Slayer's Knight
by Doc4
Summary: The journey begins. First stop: Stargate Command!
1. Default Chapter

Hey guys, me again. This is just a little something I thought of a while back and thought it might be an interesting story. By the way, thanks to those who reviewed Phoenix Rising. This is not connected to it I may post sequels if I get more reviews.

Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. Gargoyles belong to Disney. The Watcher belongs to Marvel.

Please review. I crave reviews. Creative criticism would be good as well.

_One thousand years ago, _

_Superstition and the sword ruled._

_It was a time of darkness; it was a world of fear,_

_It was the age of Gargoyles._

This is the story, as you know it. A clan of Gargoyles, frozen in stone for a thousand years by the humans they trusted the most. Awakened a thousand years later, they found themselves betrayed once more, this time by their rescuer, and one of their own, one thought dead. They were chased from their home, only once more to be faced with a danger to their clan, a clone of their leader, Goliath. This clone fell into his programming, becoming power mad. Engineering a plan that ended in failure, but delivered a large amount of money into his hands. In the years to come he would become a great enemy of the clan. But, What If things had gone differently.

_I am the Watcher, sworn to observe, but never interfere. My sight is not locked onto one reality, but rather, the many different possibilities of what may have been. This is one of those tales._

            He had done it. Not only had he shown up his 'fathers', but he had escaped with more money than most third world countries could dream of. And the best part was, the fools thought he was dead. He was free, free to do what ever he wanted. Now all he had to do was find somewhere to lay low for a while. And he knew the perfect place. A quiet little town in California that was barely visited. A place called Sunnydale.

She sat quietly, remembering. The sad look in his eyes as what she had done had come crashing down on him. The feeling of her heart breaking. It wasn't fair. Angel had made her feel happy, complete. She should have been able to live the rest of her life with him. Instead, she had been forced to kill him. She punched a wall nearby. It cracked under her strength. She looked at the cracks. She was Buffy Summers, the all-powerful Vampire Slayer. That shouldn't have included her boyfriend. She looked at the Claddaugh ring in her hand. He had given it to her that night; the he had lost his soul, and became Angelus once more. The night her entire life had gone straight to hell. She felt the tears well in her eyes. "It's just not fair." She whispered.

"I hear ya, kid." Buffy whirled around. She glared at the owner of the voice.

"You!" She spat as she rushed at the man.

"Oh shit." He said, as she grabbed him by the collar.

"What the hell are you doing here, Whistler? Wasn't telling me my boyfriend had to die enough? Here to ruin my life some more? Who do I have to kill next? Giles? Willow? My mother?"

"Now calm down, would ya? I didn't want any of this." Buffy stared at him. "I was the one that showed you to Angel. You think I wanted you two broken up after what I went through to get you together? You think the Powers wanted that? Someone else's playing around, they're getting involved where they don't belong." Buffy let him go. "Thank you. Now, something big is coming. The Powers are sending another Slayer down as back up. There's someone else coming, but…"

"Don't bother." She said, turning away. "I'm not falling in love again. The other Slayer's fine, but forget about the other one. I don't need it." Whistler watched as she walked away. This wasn't fair on the girl. She shouldn't have to do this. Living with the pain. He hoped that she softened her heart a little when the other got here; otherwise, things were going to get worse.

Buffy stormed home. That little creep! Just because he was a messenger for the Powers That Be, he thought he could screw with her life whenever he felt the need. Didn't he know what the term 'mourning period' meant? If she saw that scrawny, little…

She was about to head to the Library when she had second thoughts. Her mom was worried enough as it was after finding out she was the Slayer. Best to wait until morning to tell Giles what had happened.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she failed to notice the large, winged shape fly towards the manor.

Thailog glided down into the courtyard. This place would be perfect. It seemed abandoned, and it shouldn't be too hard to scare the locals into staying away. He grinned to himself. Humans could be so superstitious sometimes; they would probably take him for a demon. After a couple of months or more, he could go out and start on his plans.

He looked around the inside of the manor. Odd. All these strange artifacts. Whoever had lived here before must have left in a hurry to have left so much behind. He shrugged. Oh well, he could probably sell a lot of it; add to his already large amount cash. He thought about the briefcase he was carrying. Better find somewhere to hide it, he thought as he climbed upstairs. Wouldn't do for some snot nosed kid to find it, not after all he went through to get it. He grinned at that thought. He wondered how his 'fathers' were getting over that.

New York 

"Has there been any word?" David Xanatos, head of Xanatos Industries, wasn't really worried. It wasn't like Thailog could really do anything, but with the programming he had received…

"Nothing yet, sir, but we'll keep looking." Owen pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. "Do you really believe he survived? There wasn't much left of the oilrig."

"Owen, you should know by now that I never take anything for granted. Given the amount of money that he received, I'd bet my entire company he had some sort of escape plan." Xanatos turned in his chair and looked out his window. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

Sunnydale 

"And that's what he said?" Rupert Giles, Librarian, Watcher and expert in the occult, looked over at his charge. Buffy nodded. "Well, with the Slayer, I can check with the council, but as for this other…" Xander looked over from the table he was sitting at.

"Research mode?" He quizzed. The others looked at him. "Well, Buff got the word from the Powers That Be, right? So there's a chance that there's probably some kind of prophecy or…" He looked around at them. "What?"

"Xander, that's actually a good idea." Giles said. Cordelia gaped.

"It is?" She asked.

"It is?" Xander repeated. Giles nodded.

"Yes. By the sounds, this maybe something apocalyptic. Which means…"

"Illegible and impossible to understand prophecies." Willow said. The bell rang for first class. "Which we'll be checking after school."

"Not me." Buffy said. "Prior engagement. Mom wants some quality mother/daughter time, so we're going to the movies."

"Alright then. The rest of us will look into this." They all nodded and headed to class. Giles watched as Buffy left the Library. She tried to make like it had never happened. It just wasn't fair on the girl. He sighed. There was nothing he could do. Best get on with the work at hand.

Thailog looked over his new domain. He had decided to stay. His plans would be able to continue from here. Besides…

That girl. The one that seemed to visit the manor like it meant something to her. There was something about her. She was different than most humans. She never touched any of the strange artifacts in the manor, but she seemed to know about them. It was what had stopped him from organizing their sale. It would give him away.

She suddenly turned, looking up in his direction, like she knew he was there. But that was impossible. He had stayed in the shadows, the dark purple of his skin blending in, hiding him. There was no way…

"You may as well come out now." The girl said. "I know you're there. I know you've been watching me. If you're going to kill me, get it over with." She stood there. He looked into her eyes. There was nothing there, no hope, no will to live, nothing. "Death would be welcome. Without Angel…" She bowed her head. "Just get it over with."

"I have no wish to harm you." He glided down to the ground. "I am Thailog." Buffy stared at the creature. He skin was a deep dark purple. He had wings, claws, everything that made her think demon. But not the feeling. Her Slayer sense was quiet, so he wasn't a demon, vampire or anything else like that. "Do you have a name?" He asked.

"Oh right, sorry. I'm Buffy." She held out her hand. Thailog took it, shaking it gently. "So," she asked. "what are you doing here?"

"I live here." He said.

"I mean in Sunnydale. The only kind of people we usually get here are demon guys that want to destroy the world or whatever." Thailog raised an eyebrow.

"Demons?"

"Yep. Congratulations, Mr. Thailog, you're living on the edge of a Hellmouth."

The manor was quiet. Buffy stood in the room where she had killed Angel. She came here to think, and that was something she needed to do. The second Slayer, Faith, had arrived. Together, they had dusted the vamp that had killed her Watcher. Buffy looked at the ring in her hand. Faith was all right she guessed, though she seemed to get a bit too much into the whole Slayer thing.

"Buffy." She turned to see Thailog glide down from the upper level.

"Hey, big guy." She walked over to him. Since their initial meeting, the two had become fast friends. She wondered if he was the extra back up Whistler had mentioned. Not that it mattered. "How was your day?" Thailog grinned.

"Quiet. And yours?" He hadn't told her about his stone transformations during the day. He wasn't sure how to explain it.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Snyder's on my case, again." She put a mock serious face on. "I've got my eye on you, Miss Summers." Thailog couldn't help it. He laughed.

"It's hard to believe he isn't a demon." Thailog said. Buffy giggled.

"Yeah, the Annoying Principal Demon." She said. "Hey, you want to patrol with me tonight?" Thailog was taken aback.

"Patrol?"

"Yeah." She said. "Faith's taking the park, I got the cemetery. I know you don't get out much, and I thought you might want to…" She looked at him. "Stretch your wings?" She finished lamely."

"And?" Thailog prompted. There was something else.

"And I was hoping you could tell me a little more about yourself." She said. Thailog stared at her.

"I see." He said. He tried not to show his nervousness. He had not told her what had happened in Manhattan, that he had been made, not born. He did not know how she would take it.

"Well, come on. I've told you everything there is to know about me." That was true. She had told him all there was to know. "And I've kept you a secret." True again. He had asked her not to tell anyone that he was here. The longer he kept the fact that he was still alive a secret, the less chance Xanatos would find out about Buffy, something he could not allow. "All I want is to know a bit more about my friend. Is that a crime?" Thailog gave an embarrassed grin.

"No. You are right. I am sorry, but my past is…complicated. But I will patrol with you, and tell you something about myself." Buffy smiled triumphantly.

"Finally. Come on." She started out the door.

"Perhaps we can get there a little quicker." He motioned her to follow him upstairs. Buffy followed inquisitively. Thailog led her to the balcony and spread his wings.

"We're flying there? Cool. I mean, I knew you could fly, with a wing span like that, but…"

"I do not fly." Thailog told her. "I glide on currents of wind."

"That's why we came up here instead of taking off from the courtyard, right?" Thailog nodded. Buffy gave her best goofy Xander grin. "Behold, I have knowledge." Thailog chuckled, then picked her up. "Watch the hands, wings." She said.

"Hold on." Thailog said, then launched himself from the balcony. Buffy looked down as Sunnydale zoomed beneath them. It was amazing. Of the many things she had done since becoming the Slayer, none of it compared to this.

They landed in the cemetery. Buffy couldn't believe it. They only just left. "That was so awesome." She said. She checked to make sure she hadn't dropped anything. Holy water, Mr. Pointy, spare stakes…Nope, everything was still there. She handed a couple of stakes to Thailog. "Aim for the heart." She said simply. The gargoyle nodded, taking the stakes, and they began to walk. "So, when do you want to start your story?" She asked. Thailog shook his head.

"It begins in the lab of Doctor Anton Sevarius, where I was created." Buffy stared at her friend. "I was cloned from the leader of a small clan of gargoyles, recently awakened from a thousand year stone sleep in New York City."

"There are others? Wait, stone sleep? A thousand years?" Thailog nodded. This was going to take awhile.

Buffy took what Thailog said in. What he had done was understandable, she supposed, but…

"I…should not have told you about that." He said. "I can understand if you never want to see me again." Buffy placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Stop right there, big guy. You don't get rid of me that easily." He turned and looked at her. "We've all done things we aren't particularly proud." She was referring to Angelus, what she had done. "You can't run from it forever. You have to face it sometime."

"Perhaps." Thailog said. "But, I do not know where to start." Buffy thought for a moment.

"Well, you said that Goliath had a human friend, right?" Thailog nodded.

"Yes, Detective Elisa Maza of the NYPD." Buffy nodded."

"Alright, that's where we start." Thailog stared at her. "Look, do you want to hide for the rest of your life?" He shook his head. "This detective will be able to set a meet with Goliath and the…" She stopped as a vampire approached them, game face on. Buffy flipped over next to him, shoving her stake into his heart. "We're talking here." She said as the vamp was reduced to dust. Thailog chuckled.

"All right, we will do this." He said. Buffy nodded.

"Cool, but we're going to need help." Thailog raised an eyebrow.

"Help?" He asked. Buffy nodded.

"There's only one person we can trust that can find the info we need."

Willow looked around. Even though it had been a fair while since Buffy had been forced to kill Angel, you could still see his signature around the place. "Buffy, why are we here?"

"To help a friend of mine come to terms with his past." Buffy said. "Wills, you can't tell anyone what you see here. Not Oz, not Xander, no one. Alright?" Willow nodded.

"Okay, but…"

"Your worried, right?" Willow nodded. Buffy opened the door in front of them. "That's understandable." She checked the sun. "Nearly time. If what Thailog said was right…" They moved out onto the balcony. The first thing Willow noticed was the large stone gargoyle sitting near the door.

"Buffy, what…" She began to ask, but then stopped. The sun had gone down…

And the gargoyle was cracking.

The two friends watched as the gargoyle cracked, and then shattered with a roar, leaving a large, purple living gargoyle in its place.

"Oh my GOD!" Willow started, hiding behind Buffy.

"Willow, chill out." The Slayer said. She walked up to the…creature, was the best she could think of. "Hey, big guy." Buffy said. "You certainly know how to make an entrance." Thailog grinned as he stretched. Willow gawked.

"B-Buffy, wh-what is that?" She stuttered. Buffy looked over at her.

"Willow, calm down. Deep breaths, 'kay? He's not a demon. He's a gargoyle. This is Thailog." Willow nodded.

"Um, hi." She squeaked.

"Good evening." Thailog said formally. "You are Willow?" The girl nodded. Buffy grinned. She wasn't handling it too badly. "Buffy has told me about you. I have need of your help."

"You do?" Willow squeaked again. Thailog nodded.

"I…need to make amends for something I have done." He gave Willow the quick version of the story. Willow listened intently. Gargoyles? Why not, if vampires could exist…

"So you need to contact Goliath," she said a the end of the story. "but to do that, you need to contact this detective, right?" Thailog nodded.

"My problem is that I do not know how to contact her." Willow nodded.

"Gotcha. No problem, I can do that. Just look up her number on the Internet, I can have that by tomorrow."

"And I can call her." Buffy said. She looked over at Thailog. "You know, smooth things over." Thailog nodded.

"What can I do?" They looked over to the door.

"Faith?" Buffy asked. What the hell…?

"I saw you two doing the whole secret agent thing, so I thought I'd see what was going on." She looked over at Thailog. "I'm Faith."

"So I gathered." He said. "Anyone else spying on us?" Faith turned red. Buffy sighed.

"Well, since you're here, you can help." She thought for a moment. "We'll see where this goes first, okay?"

Faith shrugged. "Five by Five. So, what now?"

"We patrol." Buffy said. "Willow gets the stuff Thailog needs, and …" She stopped. "Damn."

"What's up?" Faith asked. Willow answered.

"Buffy's probably going to need to go with, you know, so he has a friend." She said. Buffy nodded.

"Means mom's going to need to meet Thailog so she understand what's going on."

"I'll go with." Faith said. "I've got no parents to worry about. I can just tell Giles I've to got go to Manhattan to help a friend with something." She grinned. "Semi true."

"You sure?" Buffy asked. Faith nodded.

"Yeah, if it's cool with Thailog." The gargoyle nodded. Then Willow had an idea.

"Hey, holidays start next week, right?" She said. Buffy grinned.

"Duh." She said. "We can all go. Girl's week off. You know, getting to know Faith better. We can say we're staying with her friend." Thailog thought a moment.

"I think I can afford a place for us to stay." He said. The others nodded.

"Well, let's get a move on." Faith said. "Where do we start?"

"WE start on patrol." Buffy said. "Willow, start on the phone number for Detective Elisa Maza." Willow nodded. "Thailog…"

"Organizing accommodations?" he said.

"Not yet. Too early." Thailog nodded. "Hey, don't worry. We'll get this done, just…hang loose." 

"All right. You three had better get going." He said. They nodded and began to file out. Thailog turned towards the balcony. It was strange, relying on others, actually trusting them. Perhaps it was what he had needed all along, friends, people he can trust. He thought about how easy it had been for him to trust the Slayer. He spread his wings and headed towards the park. A quick pass, he thought. Just to burn some nervous energy.

"So, you think this will work?" Faith asked. Buffy shrugged.

"Honestly, I don't know." They had already dropped off Willow at her house and were heading for the park via one of Sunnydale's many cemeteries. "But we have to try. What happened…I don't know. It was, like, at the time, he didn't care. But over the past few months…"

"Since meeting you?" Faith added mischievously. Buffy ignored her.

"…It's been seriously weighing on his mind, like he's…changing." She turned to the other Slayer. "He needs to do this. Why, I don't know, but I just can't shake the feeling that if he doesn't…"

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" The two turned to face the speaker.

"Who're you?" Faith asked, fist clenched. How much had he heard?

"My name is Anton Sevarius, and you are?" Faith flashed a glance at Buffy. Thailog's creator?

"Wondering how long you've been following us." Buffy shot at him. The 'doctor' chuckled.

"My dear girl, I have not been following you. I merely went for a nice walk."

"Through a cemetery?" Faith asked. "Hardly normal, especially for an old guy like you."

"And what of yourselves? Meeting your boyfriends are you?" The two Slayers made face at him.

"No." Said Faith. Not since I killed him, Buffy thought to her self.

"You want to know the truth," Buffy began. "Our boyfriends were attacked by some gang. Supposedly they hang out in one of the local mausoleums. We were gonna find out which one, and then call the cops." Faith grinned wickedly, going along with the lie.

"You know, revenge." She said. Sevarius nodded thoughtfully, hands in his pockets. The two girls tensed, just in case.

"An interesting story, but completely untrue. You two are Vampire Slayers." The two girls stared at him. How did he know that? "I have been hired to ensure that you do not interfere in my employers plans." He pulled out a dart gun. "That doesn't mean I can't have a bit of fun." He fired the gun in Buffy's direction. She dodged out of the way, the dart barely missing her. "I say, very impressive. I may want to have little peak at your D.N.A, see if I can't see something in there that gives you these extraordinary abilities." Faith came up behind him.

"And thought it was just clean livin'." She said, throwing a punch that caught Sevarius on the jaw. The scientist fell to the ground, dazed. "Damn." Faith muttered. "Guess I didn't hit him hard enough." He brought the dart gun up.

"That is obvious." Faith took a step back, ready to move. Buffy began to move towards them. "Another step and we see what effect my mutagenic agent has on Slayers." Buffy froze. Faith looked over at her.

"B, do it. What's the worst that could happen?" The dark haired Slayer hissed. Buffy nodded, and leapt forward. Sevarius grinned, and pulled the trigger.

Xander had gone looking for the girls. Buffy and Willow had been acting strangely, and as for Faith, she'd just disappeared. Giles had guessed that she had gone looking for the others, and that there was nothing to worry about. Xander had disagreed and stormed out to look for them.

He wondered if that was such a good idea.

He gripped the cross he had hidden under his jacket, just in case. No sign of any vamps yet, but this was Sunnydale. Anything could, and usually did happen.

Like the scene before him demonstrated.

The two Slayers were taking on some old guy with a dart gun. The old guy had the upper hand. The girls appeared to need help, and Xander, being Xander, did the only thing he could.

He blocked the shot.

"Xander!" Faith screamed as he fell to the ground. Buffy kicked the doctor in the head. He crumpled to the floor, unconscious.

"Ow." Xander said, pulling the dart out and looking at it. "So what's on this anyway?" He started to rock gently.

"He said some sort of mutagenic thingy." Faith said, staring at him. "What the hell did you think you were doing anyway?"

"I thought it was poison." He said defensively. Buffy moved next to her friend. "Does this mean I'm gonna turn into some turtle or something." Buffy grinned. That's their Xander.

"Yeah, with four eyes." Faith said, all the while thinking that this was her fault.

"Cool. The fifth Ninja Turtle." He said, and collapsed unconscious. Buffy caught him as he fell.

"Xander?" Faith said. "Is he alright?" Buffy shrugged. Then they both heard the sound of something heavy landing behind them.

"What happened?" Thailog asked. The girls pointed to the prone form of Sevarius, and the dart gun lying near his hand. "Sevarius? Here? But how?"

"He said he's been hired to get us out of the way. He knew we were Vampire Slayers." Faith said. She got up, all the while looking at Xander. She walked over to Sevarius, and picked him up. "Wake up." She said. She slapped him on the face. "Wake up!" Sevarius groaned and opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was an extremely pissed off Slayer. He tried to remember if his medical insurance was payed up. Then he noticed Thailog.

"Well, well, well. This is a surprise." Thailog growled at him. "Oh, what's wrong, not happy to see your daddy?" Just then, Xander screamed in agony.

"Xander?" Buffy shook him by the shoulders. "Xander, what's wrong?"

"It hurts!" He screamed. "Like…my whole…bodies…on fire. GAAAAH!" He screamed again. Faith slammed Sevarius against a tree.

"What's happening to him?" She demanded.

"He's mutating, thanks to the formula inside those darts." Sevarius grinned. Xander screamed again. Faith gritted her teeth.

"What…am…I…turning…in…to?" The boy managed through gritted teeth.

"A gargoyle, dear boy, like him." Sevarius said, pointing to Thailog. Wings exploded from Xander's back.

"AHHHHH!" He screamed. The girls watched horrified as the scream turned into an animal roar. His hands and feet became talons, his entire body changing shape. His eyes began to glow like lanterns, and suddenly, following the girls seemed like a really bad idea.

The transformation stopped, and Xander climbed to his feet. He looked down to get a good look at himself. At least my clothes didn't get totally shredded, he thought. He stretched his arms, his back, his wings…waitaminute, I've got _wings_?

"Xander?" He turned to Buffy. "You okay?" Xander looked over at her. If Buffy hadn't seen it happen, she would barely be able to recognize him.

"Yeah, sure, I think so. But," His new wings spread at a thought. This was kind of cool. "I have wings. Buffy, I have wings!"

"I noticed. How do you feel?" She saw him looking at his talons. Then he started flexing his newly expanded muscles.

"Fine. Better than ever. Think I can fly with these things?" He grinned that old, goofy grin. Thailog came up behind him.

"Flying is impossible. You can glide, thought." He informed the new gargoyle.

"Gliding only, huh? That's cool." He clenched his fists. "Man, this is intense. My senses are, like, Wolverine-sharp. And my strength…holy shit! I feel like I could take on the Master like this."

"Lookin' good, Xand." Faith said. She dragged Sevarius over to the young gargoyle. "You wanna try that new strength on the creep that did this to you?" He picked the man up by the shirt.

"Now, I'm a bit torn here." He started. "Y'see, half of me wants to thank you for doing this. I'm not useless guy anymore. I can help Buffy and Faith do their Slayer thing. On the other hand," Sevarius gasped as the new gargoyle pulled him closer. "You've turned me into a freak." Xander growled. "I can't go to school, though I suppose that's a plus. I can't hang with my friends, I can't…" Cordelia came to mind. Although they were always fighting, this possibility of loosing her brought things into perspective. He loved her, and now… "I can't be with my girlfriend. So tell me, should I thank you and let you go, or rip you to shreds in two seconds if you don't give me a cure?" Sevarius started stammering. The others watched as wet patch appeared on his pants.

"Has he ever done this before?" Faith whispered. Buffy shook her head. Thailog grimaced.

"I have examined the reports on Sevarius' mutagen. A side effect is a momentary heightened aggression during and after the transformation. It does not last long, but long enough for one of his involuntary test subjects to kill someone." Buffy gasped. Faith looked over at him. Xander didn't look like he was going to back off. Buffy ran over to them.

"Xander, settle down." Buffy put a hand on his shoulder. He growled at her. "Xander! Cool it, it's just me, it's Buffy. Take it easy." Recognition flashed in his eyes, then his concentration went back to Sevarius.

"Look what he did to me, Buff. He's turned me into a freak. I can't walk in the streets anymore. I…I can't hold Cordelia anymore. And it's all his fault!" Xander's eyes flared blood red. "I'm gonna make him pay. I gonna…" He growled.

"Xander, please don't do this. This isn't like you. We can fix this."

"What if we can't?" He roared. Thailog took a stepped forward. "What if I'm stuck like this?" Buffy pulled him away from the frightened man. She wrapped her arms around him as he started to cry into her shoulder. "It's not fair, it's…just not fair." Sevarius began to crawl away when Faith's foot came down on his hand. He yelped in pain.

"Don't even think about getting away, creep." She said. She looked over at the two friends. Now she didn't have a choice. Buffy was going to have to tell about Thailog, before she was ready. This sucked. "That is your fault. Fix it, or else."

"I can't." Sevarius said, as calmly as possible. "The changes are genetic. They can't be reversed, not without…"

"If you can do something in the first place, then I'm sure you can _un_do." Xander turned to face her.

"Faith, don't worry about it." He looked down at his hands again. "I guess I can get used to it. It's fine. Besides, he's probably right. I guess I can live like this." Xander walked over to the prone doctor, who was still gasping in pain. "You can get off his hand now." Faith obliged. Sevarius rubbed his hand, trying to get the blood flowing again.

"What will you do with him?" Thailog asked. Buffy shrugged.

"Hand him over to the police, I guess. We could charge him with illegal tampering with genetics, or…something." Xander picked the doctor up and flung him over his shoulder. Thailog picked up the dart gun and handed it to him.

"Ah, the mutation weapon." Xander quipped. "Thank you, Watson." Thailog chuckled. "Uh, think you could give me a hand with these?" He gave his wings a flick, hitting Sevarius in the process.

"You'd better give him to me. It wouldn't do well to drop him." He took the terrified scientist from the boy. "As tempting as that is. We'd better find a take off point." He pointed to a near by mausoleum. "That will do."

"Uh, question; how do we get up there?" Xander quizzed. Thailog walked over to a tree nearby, and propelled himself to the closest branch. Then, he jumped over to the roof of the mausoleum. "And for those of us who would probably miss the tree?" Buffy rolled her eyes. Thailog looked down at his new pupil.

"Use your claws to climb up the side." Xander looked at his talons.

"Oh, yeah." He dug his claws into the side of the building, and began to climb. "Alright, this deal is getting slightly cooler." He clambered up beside Thailog. "What now, teach?" Thailog grinned.

"Your first gliding lesson." Thailog spread his wings. "Your wings can carry you depending on the strength of the wind current. Your entire body is designed to for this, so you will be able to tell if the current is about to break or increase. Understand?" Xander shrugged.

"Experience is the best teacher, right?" Thailog sighed. This was going to take a while. He looked down at Buffy.

"Tell the others what has happened. We will meet you at the library." Buffy nodded. Thailog looked pack at his new pupil, who was trying to get the feel of his new wings by holding them at different angles. "Follow me." He said and jumped off the building. Xander grinned, and followed, fell about half away, then caught the wind. Buffy and Faith couldn't help it, they laughed out loud as they watched him stagger (that was the only description either could label his lopsided flight) through the air.

"Hey, would you wait up." Xander yelled as the two gargoyles disappeared into the night.

"Come on." Buffy said. "We'd better go fill the others in."

Cordelia stared at the two Slayers. No more making out in the closet (or anywhere else for that matter). At least she didn't have to worry about Harmony and co. giving her grief about her choice of boyfriends. But still…

"Are you sure this…Thailog is alright?" Giles asked for the fiftieth time. Buffy exhaled sharply. Willow rolled her eyes. Giles had gone all protective father on them the moment they had mentioned the gargoyle.

"Yes, Giles. I'm sure he's all right. I think if he was going to try anything, he would have tried it by now." Faith nodded.

"Yeah. He seemed generally pissed off over what happened to Xander." She thought for a minute. "Although that could just be the effect Sevarius has on him." Suddenly there was a crash outside, followed by a yelp of pain. The four of them rushed outside. They found Thailog helping a rather disgruntled Xander to his feet. Cordelia gasped. When Buffy and Faith had told them what had happened, she thought she was ready for the worst, but this…

"I told you to slow down on the approach." Thailog said.

"Well, excuse me, kemosabe, but I've never done this before, remember?" Xander grumbled. He dusted himself off. " 'Slow down' he says. How?"

"Xander?" Cordelia breathed. He spun around, realizing for the first time that his friends were there.

"Oh, uh…hey, Cordelia." Xander suddenly wished the sun would come up. Anything to get away from the look on her face. "How do I look?" Cordelia just stared for a moment, then fainted. "Well she took that well." He said as Giles caught her. The Watcher looked up at the young man. "Geez, take a picture, G-Man. Lasts longer." Giles couldn't help it. He grinned. It was still Xander, just in a different packaging, he supposed. Xander turned to look at Willow, who was trembling slightly. "Hey, Wills. You gonna faint to?" Willow threw herself at her friend, hugging him tightly. "Guess that answers that question."

"Are you alright?" Willow asked as she pulled away. Xander shrugged.

"Guess so. Still a bit weirded out, but I can deal. Kinda like when we all became our costumes on Halloween, but not." He looked over at Cordelia. "Better get her inside." They all nodded and marched in. Thailog stopped at the door. Buffy looked at him.

"What, you need an invite or something." She said with grin. Thailog shook his head.

"Perhaps I should return to the manor." He said. Buffy put a hand on his shoulder.

"Why?"

"I do not belong here. This is for you and your friends to deal with. You do not need an intruder." Buffy glared at him. Did all the guys in her life have to have a major martyr syndrome? "I will see you later."

"Oh, for crying out loud. Would you please stop acting like Angel?" Thailog stared at her. "He had the same problem at the beginning. 'I don't belong here, I'm not human.' Tough." She pointed towards the school building. The Slayerettes were staring their way. "In. Now. Before I beat the crap out of you." She looked up at him, a determined look on her face.

"Better do what she says, man." Xander said, Cordelia still limp in his arms.

"Yeah." Willow agreed. "She's got a 'resolved face' on."

"I suggest you follow their advice." Giles added. Thailog groaned.

"All right." He said walking in the direction she was pointing. Buffy walked beside him. "Happy?"

"Much." She said. Then she punched him in the arm. He glared at her. "That's for taking so long to follow my advice." The others chuckled. Thailog shook his head. This was going to take some getting used to.

Back in the Library, Cordelia had finally come to. Oz had arrived from his gig at the Bronze and been brought up to speed.

"You sure you're going to be all right?" The werewolf asked. "I know how much transformations like this suck."

"It's cool." Xander said. "I got it. It's under control." He looked over at Cordelia. She was watching Willow's computer screen intently, only staring over at him when she thought he wasn't looking, quickly looking away when she realized he was. Dammit. It wasn't fair!

"I've got it!" Willow suddenly shouted. "I found her number."

"Way to go, Red." Faith said, patting the girl on the back. Willow grinned.

"It took a little longer than I expected though." Giles said. Willow's face went redder than her hair.

"Willow?" Buffy asked. "What did you do?"

"Nothing!" Willow said defensively. "Well, okay, I hacked into the phone company's database." They all stared at her, all except Xander. He knew Will could hack with the best of them. The only reason he hadn't flunked out yet was Willow's judicial use of her hacking skills. "What? It was a silent number, what else could I do?"

"You should not have put yourself in danger for me." Thailog said. Willow waved it away.

"No prob. Easy. A child could have done it." She said. "Of course, it did get close. There was someone else on there, tried to kick me out of the system." Willow thought quietly. "Funny thing is, they'd been tracking me since I'd done the search to find the detective's number, like they were trying to protect her. Wonder who it was."

_New York City._

"Goliath, we may have a problem." Lexington said. Goliath, the leader of the clan, moved over behind him.

"What is it, Lexington?"

"Well, I was just surfing the Internet when I came across someone breaking into the telephone company's database." Brooklyn walked over to where his leader and rookery brother were talking.

"What does that have to do with us?" He asked, puzzled. "It's not like we have a phone."

"No, but Elisa is, and that's who they were looking for." A low growl escaped from Goliath's throat.

"What?" He growled.

"I tried to kick whoever it was out, but they got her number before I got a chance." Brooklyn looked over at Goliath. The detective maws the only real friend they had in this new world. If someone was looking for her…

"Do you think its Xanatos?" The orange gargoyle asked. Goliath shook his head.

"He would already have this information. Why would he need to do this?" Brooklyn shrugged. The large lavender gargoyle looked back to Lexington. "Do you know who did this?"

"Sorry, couldn't get that. Managed to get a position thought."

"Where?"

"Sunnydale, California." Lex pointed to the map on his screen. Goliath nodded.

"I will go and warn Elisa. The rest of you, stay here and guard the clock tower." He looked down at Lex. "Try and get more information on this…hacker." Lex nodded.

"Got it." Goliath moved outside and spread his wings. He thought a moment. Who would go to such lengths to find her number? Was it connected to Xanatos? He did not know and as he took off, he came to one conclusion. He did not care. Who ever this was, if they endangered Elisa…

He would protect her.

Detective Elisa Maza of the NYPD had just gotten home after her shift. Quick shower, then head to the clock tower to say good morning to the guys. She was about to get in when the phone rang.

"This had better be good." She said as she picked it up. "Maza."

"Detective Elisa Maza?" The voice was that of a girl, maybe eighteen. She seemed nervous.

"That's me, who is this?"

"My name I Buffy Summers. I'm a friend of Thailog's. He wants to speak to Goliath."


	2. Trhough teh Looking Glass

Hey guys, me again. This is just a little something I thought of a while back and thought it might be an interesting story. By the way, thanks to those who reviewed Phoenix Rising. This is not connected to it I may post sequels if I get more reviews.

Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. Gargoyles belong to Disney.

Please review. I crave reviews. Creative criticism would be good as well.

"Are you sure that is what she said?" Goliath asked. He had arrived at Elisa's apartment to tell her about the hacker when she had told him about Buffy's call.

"Guess we know who Lex's hacker was, and why they were after my number." Elisa said. Goliath nodded and looked out the window.

"Did she leave a phone number?" Elisa nodded. "Then I guess I had better talk to her, then." 

"You sure you want to do this now?" She asked. "How do we know if we can trust her, or him, for that matter? Remember what happened last time?"

"I do, but he may wish to apologise. We must give him that chance. It is not his fault he is the way he is." Elisa sighed and got the phone.

"Guess your right." She said as she dialled the number Buffy had given her. She then handed the big gargoyle the phone. "Hope you know what your doing, big guy."

"As do I." Goliath said, holding the phone to his ear. "As do I."

_Sunnydale._

"Well, gotta go." Buffy said. "Get some beauty sleep." She looked over at Cordelia. Thailog and Xander had already returned to the manor. Cordelia hadn't moved since they left. "You alright?" Cordelia didn't look at her. She just stared out into space.

"I'm fine." She said tonelessly.

"Yeah right." Buffy snorted. "Come on. I'll walk you home." She looked around as she hauled Cordelia to her feet. "Anyone coming with?"

"Why not?" Faith said. "I could use the company."

"Hey, wait for us." Willow said as she and Oz headed for the door.

"'Bye, Giles." Buffy said. The phone rang as they were about to exit. Who could that be, Giles thought.

"Hello?"

"Is Buffy Summers there?" The voice at the other end was deep, and also familiar. Giles motioned Buffy over.

"Um, yes, she is. May I ask who is calling?"

"My name is Goliath. A friend of mine gave me a message from her." Giles stared at Buffy.

"Oh dear God." He breathed. "Just one moment." Buffy looked at her Watcher. "It's Goliath." Buffy's jaw dropped as Giles handed her the phone.

"H-hello?" Okay, she was nervous. Truth to tell, she hadn't expected a call back so soon.

"Buffy Summers?" It sounded so much like Thailog. Surprisingly, that thought calmed her down a bit.

"Yeah. Goliath, right?" She tried to sound confident. She hoped it worked.

"Indeed." The gargoyle sounded…cautious. No surprise there, Buffy thought. Probably thinking of what happened the last time he and Thailog met. "You said Thailog wished to talk to me. Why?"

"He…wants to apologise." Buffy noticed that Goliath's breath had caught at that.

"He does, does he?" He expected it, Buffy thought, or at least, he was willing to give him a chance.

"He wants to apologise for what he did. He's been watching over the town and…well, he feels he can't move on until he's made up for what he did." Buffy took a breath. This was going smoother than she thought it would. She noticed that the others were waiting for her. Willow and Oz both gave her a thumbs up each. Giles just nodded approvingly. Even Cordelia seemed to snap out of her shock a little, smiling at the Slayer. Faith was most vocal.

"Keep it up, B." She whispered.

"Are you sure?" Goliath said. He had to be sure. "I have found that Thailog's word cannot…"

"What?" Buffy couldn't believe it. She had been so sure. "All he wants to do is put this behind him so that he can move on, and your telling me that he can't be trusted? Without even talking with him?" In New York, Goliath flinched slightly. This girl had a more poisonous tongue then even Demona had. "You have had one run in with him, just after he escaped. He was still confused; the only thing he had to run on is what this Xanatos guy stuffed into his skull. He's not that gargoyle anymore, but your not even giving him a chance." Buffy was fuming. The others stared at her. Faith, especially, couldn't believe it. This was a side of the other Slayer she had never seen before, and she suddenly realized why Buffy had survived this long. She never gave up on a friend. That realization made her wonder; would Buffy stick up for her that way? She didn't know. But she wondered.

Goliath to wondered; what had Thailog done to earn this girls loyalty? Why was she defending him so vehemently? Was she right, had his clone changed? "That is not what I meant. To do what you ask, would place my clan in danger. I must be sure it is not a trick, that he is not a threat." Buffy took a breath.

"You're right, I'm sorry. It's just…" She looked over at Giles. How much could she tell him? The Watcher nodded. "Things in Sunnydale aren't exactly…normal. It's…complicated, but the bottom line is, Thailog has been risking his life against things that no one should have to face."

"What kind of things?" Goliath asked. What kind of town was this Sunnydale?

"Oh, you know," Buffy said smoothly. "vampires, demons, stuff like that." The others looked at Giles, who simply nodded.

"Well, it's, uh, not like he can tell anyone." He said with a shrug. Faith grinned and clapped the Librarian on the shoulder.

In New York, Goliath's eyes went wide. Vampires? In this day and age. He had hoped they would have been wiped out by now. Elisa looked at him inquisitively.

"Vampires?" Elisa's eyes went wide at this.

"Yeah, vampires." Buffy said. "And demons, and probably half a dozen other things I don't know about yet. If you don't believe me, come down and see for yourself." Goliath grinned. This girl was stubborn to say the least.

"I believe you, I have run into vampires before myself." He briefly thought of the scar on his back shoulder, a souvenir of his first run in with the undead. "I have much to think about. I will call you back."

"Hold on, we need some kind of answer." Buffy was exasperated. He knew about vampires? Had he met a Slayer in the past?

"We will talk again tomorrow." Goliath held the phone for a second, and then hung up.

"No wait…damn it!" Buffy threw the phone down in disgust. She turned to Giles. "Could you still get information from the Council?" Giles thought for a moment.

"I'm not sure. They have made sure I can't get to the Slayer Diaries or the Watcher's Chronicle's since firing me, but I can see what I can find."

"Good." Buffy nodded. "See what you can find on any run ins Goliath's had with vamps. Faith," She turned to the other Slayer. Buffy still didn't entirely trust her, but right now… "Head over to the manor. Tell Thailog what happened. The rest of us had better get some rest. I've got a feeling we're going to need it."

_New York._

"Vampires?" Elisa looked at Goliath. They were just myths, stuff people used in movies, it was impossible. Wasn't it?

"Yes, they do exist." He uncaped his wings, showing the scar on the bock of his shoulder. Elisa gasped. "I first faced a vampire in my teen years, still a hatchling in the eyes of my elders. A caravan on its way to the castle had been attacked, and a small group of gargoyles had been sent out. I had been sent along with several of my rookery brothers and sisters. It was routine, and gave us a chance to burn off some of the energy the young have." He bowed his head. "At least, we thought it was routine. We knew it was something more when we realized that that the bodies had been completely drained of their blood. There were bites of some sort on each body. Then one of my rookery brothers saw something moving in the bushes. He went to investigate, despite the others warning him against it. Worried for his safety, I followed. When I found him, I wished I hadn't." Goliath clenched his fists against the memory. "The demon had him in a dark embrace, one he could not break. His blood…Jalepenja, it was everywhere. I was so engrossed in what I saw before me, I never even saw the one behind me, only heard a female voice." Goliath stopped as the memory stole over him.

_"Relax, young one. I have never fed from a gargoyle before." The voice was like a bell, clear and smooth, but it didn't fool him. She had him in a grip of iron, one even his strength could not break._

_"I will not submit to you, monster." He proclaimed .He felt a something prick him in the shoulder._

_"You're a bit to young for me at the moment, but I will return." She began to stroke his cheek. He felt himself flush. "Remember that, my sweet. When next we meet, I will make you mine. Mine for all eternity." And with that, she was gone, leaving him alone with the body of his rookery brother, and the memory of her sweet voice._

"I have not seen her since. When I awoke, I had hoped that the vampires had been destroyed. I should have known better." He looked over at Elisa, who had taken a seat during his story. "Now, there is every chance that she will come to fulfil her promise. And there may be nothing anyone can do to stop it."

"Like hell!" Elisa stated. "Look, I don't care if it was Dracula himself, we can find a way to beat this."

"Perhaps." Goliath wasn't convinced.

"Look, we've got other things to worry about than some vampire that may already be dead." Goliath sighed.

"You are right, of course. There is Thailog." He turned to the window. "I will return to the clock tower. There is much I have to think on." Besides that, he could use Hudson's advice on this, and other things.

_Sunnydale, next night._

Buffy sat in the room, thinking over her conversation with Goliath. That he had faced vampires before was, she supposed, not a big surprise, once you thought about it. Protecting a castle in the dark ages, there would have been one or two that got in. She looked out onto the balcony, as the sun sunk behind the two stone figures. "Show time." She rose from her seat as cracks started to appear.

"A gargoyle? Your sure?" Richard Wilkins, Mayor of Sunnydale and demon to be (if the Ascension worked) stared at the vampire that had brought the news. This was just what he needed.

"That's what I saw. He flew over the park towards the cemetery." Wilkins fumed. A gargoyle was all he needed. He was having enough problems with the two Slayers.

"You can go now." The vampire moved out the door. A gargoyle. He thought they were extinct. "Not a good time for them to come back."

_"Things do not bode well, sisters." She said, her snow-white hair, glistening in the moonlight. Her sisters nodded in agreement._

_         "Something must be done, else our plans be ruined." Her raven-haired sister agreed._

_         "But what can we do?" The blonde asked. "The Slayer will not be able to beat the vampress who has claimed Goliath without Angelus to protect her."_

_         "Then perhaps another is needed." The first sister suggested. She pointed to the image before them, as the Slayer in question, greeting Goliaths dark purple clone, and the once human Xander as they woke from their stone sleep. Her sisters nodded. "Then we are agreed."_

_         "It will not be easy." The second said. "Both hearts are hardened by difficult pasts."_

_         "It must be done." Said the third. "Let us begin."_

         "Hey guys." Buffy looked on as the two gargoyles shook the remainder of their stone skin off. "Sleep well?" Xander grinned.

         "Like a rock." He said. "What's the goss at school?" It was strange. One day and he already missed school. Go figure.

         "Well, Sneider's heinous, again. Someone's trying to sue the school, and Harmony's a bitch." She said that last one a bit to hurried.

         "What do you mean? What did she do?" Buffy shook her head. "Buff?"

         "She was teasing Cordelia." Buffy's fists were clenched at her side. "She saw that you weren't at school and started saying things like you weren't good enough, that you realised it, then said that maybe she should forget about cheerleading, and try something where she'd fit in a bit better, like chess class. She…" Xander's eyes lit up like lanterns. Buffy stopped. If she said anything else, he might do something drastic.

         "What else, Buffy? What else did she say?" Buffy hesitated. "What else?" He roared. Buffy winced. Thailog placed a hand on his shoulder.

         "Calm down, Xander. It is not Buffy's fault, and there is nothing you could do." Xander sighed.

         "You're right. I'm sorry, Buff." Buffy shrugged.

         "No big. You just…lost your temper. Lashed out a bit. Don't worry, I can handle it." She thought for a moment. "There is someone who _does_ need you." She grinned. "She's said she's staying at home tonight." Xander nodded and launched himself into the air, lurching a bit as he did so. "He's a good friend." She whispered. "He doesn't deserve this."

         "No one does." Thailog said. "But, I think he will get along fine. He is a strong willed young man. He will be fine." Buffy nodded. "Now, what news from your phone call last night?"

         "Good news, Goliath called back not long after you left the Library. He said he'd call back tonight." Thailog stared at her.

         "What is the bad news?" He asked. A reply? So soon? Did Goliath believe he deserved a second chance? Did he still hold hope he would join the clan? He didn't know.

         "I don't know yet, but I have one interesting little tid bit." Buffy looked over Sunnydale. Her town. "Seems like Goliath's had at least one run-in with vamps before."

         "What?" Thailog couldn't believe. Perhaps that is why Goliath seemed so hard at times.

         "Yeah. Giles' doing some research, but since he was fired from the Council, his resources are limited at times." Thailog grimaced. This Watchers Council was becoming a right royal pain in the ass.

         "We had best head to the Library." He said, lifting her gently. He felt her stiffen in his arms. "Relax. I will not hurt you." Never her.

         "I know." Buffy whispered. "But I might hurt you." Thailog looked down at her. Something was wrong. He launched from the balcony.

         "Buffy, is something wrong?"

         "My entire life." The Slayer said. "Everything sucks, everyone I know gets hurt somehow, and I can't stop it." She looked at the ground moving beneath her. It would be so easy to just throw herself out of his arms, fall to the ground below. It would end the pain she caused. She might even be reunited with Angel. That thought made it even more tempting. "I'm poison. Everyone I touch, dies. The world would be better off without me." She felt Thailog pull her closer, like he could tell what she was thinking.

         "That is a lie." He said. "You are more important than most. Look at that town." Buffy did so. "Those people down there sleep peacefully, safe, because of you. Because of the work you do. They sleep, ignorant of the dangers in the night. They never have to worry about vampires, or demons. Because of you. Because you fight. You protect those who cannot protect themselves." Thailog thought for a moment. He had talked, briefly, to Xanatos, about why Goliath fought like he did. Xanatos had given him a wry grin.

         _"I overheard Hudson tell the detective once that gargoyles cannot stop protecting the castle anymore than they can stop breathing. Perhaps he sees Manhattan as his castle."_

         "In a way," Thailog continued. "you represent the gargoyle way, more than anyone else I have met, even Goliath himself." Buffy looked up at him. "You protect, like you breathe. It's why you exist. Sunnydale needs you, the world needs you." I need you, his heart whispered. He pushed the thought away. It would never work.

         "But how do you know? If I hadn't been around, the Council would have sent someone else, someone who followed their rules, their orders. The others wouldn't get placed in danger all the time. They'd be safe." Thailog grimaced.

"Perhaps, perhaps not." Thailog was worried. "Why have you started thinking like this?"

"It's…what happened to Xander." And other events, she thought to herself. "If he hadn't come out looking for Faith and me, he would never have become a gargoyle. No offence, but he shouldn't be like that, and it's my fault. Be cause I drew him into this world." So that was the problem.

"Buffy…" Suddenly, the world around them started to swirl. "What the hell?" Thailog positioned his wings, trying to gain control as wind swept around them. He gripped Buffy's form tightly in his arms. A voice sounded around them.

"So you wish to see what might have been." It said.

"We will grant you this insight." A second voice said.

"But be warned." A third. "Neither of you will survive this unchanged." With that, the storm subsided. The two of them looked below. Sunnydale was still there.

But it was surrounded by a wall.

"W-what is this?" Buffy asked. "What's going on? Where'd the wall come from?" She was shaking.

"I do not know." Thailog said. "But I think we should find out." With that, he dived towards the ground, landing in front of the school. Or at least, it used to be a school. "What on earth?"

The school was in ruins, a burnt out husk of what it used to be.

"Oh…my…" Buffy stood there, trying to take it in. "How did this happen? _When _did this happen?"

"It blew up. Real good." Buffy turned at the sound of a familiar voice. "Got bored with it."

"Willow?"

         Ahh! Cliffhanger! What do you think? Review, please!!!!!

         Also, if anyone knows the names for the Weird Sisters, could you either tell me in a review, or email me at gpgailer@telstra.com. Thanks, guys. Later.

Doc


	3. Dark Reflections

Hey guys, me again. This is just a little something I thought of a while back and thought it might be an interesting story. By the way, thanks to those who reviewed Phoenix Rising. This is not connected to it I may post sequels if I get more reviews.

Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. Gargoyles belong to Disney.

Please review. I crave reviews. Creative criticism would be good as well.

"Willow?" The red head looked down at her. "Is that…did you do this?" Buffy couldn't believe it, but that was what she had implied.

Willow giggled softly. "It was fun. Everyone ran around, like scared little animals." She giggled again. "Liked it. Fun to watch. Master liked it, too. Laughed loud." She pouted. "Ended too quickly, though. Bloody cheerleaders died too quickly." Suddenly, a hungry look entered her eyes. Buffy felt her heart sink to her toes. No, it wasn't possible. "You look like a cheerleader. I wonder," Her suddenly became ridged, her cheeks sunk. Her eyes turned yellow, and Buffy saw fangs enter her grin. "do you taste like one?"

"Oh God." Buffy couldn't believe it. This wasn't possible. "God, no. It can't be. Not Willow." Willow giggled.

"You going to beg? I like it when they beg. It's more fun, when they beg." She moved forward. Thailog thought Buffy wouldn't move, that the shock of seeing Willow as a vampire had robbed her of her will to fight.

He was wrong.

Buffy flew forward, her rage overpowering her. This was not her friend. This was a demon wearing Willow's face. She let go her feelings, let go who she was.

And became The Slayer.

Willow watched her move. She was faster than any other prey she had hunted. Not that it mattered. She was vampire, top of the food chain. Nothing can beat me, she thought in the bottom of her insane mind. Nothing.

She was wrong. She learned that as The Slayer drove her stake through the heart. It didn't hurt as much as she thought it would.

The Slayer watched as the creature dissolved. She snarled in disgust. That had been far too easy. She needed a challenge, something to test her skills, not some puny newborn.

"Buffy?" A voice, deep, comforting. She turned towards it. "Are you alright?" She looked at the creature. It was not human, but it wasn't a demon either.

"Who?" She asked. There were no other words needed. One word conveyed her question well enough. "What?"

"Buffy, it's me. Thailog." He took a step towards her. She stood there, looking for all the world like she was going to attack him. "What has happened to you?"

"Become."

"Become?" Thailog could tell she had changed. The ferocity of her attack, the steel in her eyes, her stance, all of this showed a change. "Become what?"

"Slayer." She looked him up and down, trying to take measure. Something niggled in the back of her mind. Like she recognised the creature. "Friend?" Thailog was relieved. There was still something of the girl he knew inside, somewhere. He just had to dig it out.

"Yes, we are friends. We helped each other through a rough spot, a few months ago. Try to remember." Her face scrunched up momentarily.

"NO!" She yelled suddenly. "No. Not remember. Hurts." There was pain written on her face. "No remember. Hunt." And with that, she took off. Thailog followed closely, wondering what had happened and, more importantly, what was going on in the tortured mind of his friend. 

_"Hello?" Buffy looked around. There was nothing but darkness. "Willow?" That was the last thing she remembered. Her friend, her best bud, a vampire, giggling, saying how much she had enjoyed burning the school with people in it. How had it happened? Then there was the sensation of being pulled back by the scruff of the neck, and a voice like hers but different, harder._

_"Weak." After that, nothing. Maybe it was better. She couldn't hurt anyone, but then again, she couldn't find out what had happened to Willow. But she couldn't get out of here, she didn't even know where here was. She needed help. Suddenly, she heard a voice, familiar and sorely missed._

_"Don't push him away." It couldn't be._

_"Angel?" Tears welled in her eyes as he appeared in front of her. "No, it can't be, I…your dead. This can't be happening." He smiled at her, wry, yet full of warmth._

_"I know. But it is me." He reached out a hand, brushing hair off her face. "You need help. You need to get back." She stopped trying to hold back the tears. She threw herself into his arms._

_"I can't, I don't want to. I can't do this anymore, I don't want to leave you." He stroked her hair softly._

_"I know, I know. But it's okay."_

_"I've just…been so lost…without you."_

_"Shh, I know, I've been watching. Why do you think I sent Thailog?" Buffy pulled back and looked at his face._

_"You…" He nodded. "But how?"_

_"A push, a nudge." He grinned. "A pamphlet dropped in his lap."_

_"Whistler." Buffy couldn't help it, she laughed out loud. "That little…that explains how...he…" She suddenly put two and two together. "The Powers had no idea, did they?" He shook his head._

_"They sent Faith, thinking it would be enough. I knew differently, so I organised things with Whistler." He brushed her cheek again. "He was cheering us on the entire time, you know that?" Buffy nodded._

_"Yeah he mentioned something along those lines." Buffy thought for a moment. Angel had sent Thailog? Did that mean… "What's going on? With Willow, I mean. She was a vampire, how did that happen? What's going on?" Angel looked at her._

_"Someone's decided you needed a trip to an alternate reality."_

_"What? Alternate…" Buffy looked at him, confused. "In English?" Angel chuckled. She hadn't changed._

_"They've sent you to another earth, an earth where you never existed. The government built a wall around Sunnydale when someone killed off the Master. Other than that, I don't know." Buffy stared at him._

_"Who would do this, and why?" Angel shrugged._

_"I don't know. What I do know is that to get back to your Sunnydale, you need to get out of here."_

_"How?" Buffy asked, panic building. "I don't even know where here is, and I don't want to lose you, I…"_

_"Hey. Hey. Stop that." He grabbed her arms tight. "Listen to me. Are you listening?" She nodded. "You never lost me. I haven't stopped watching over you, not for a second." He pulled her close. "Just because you can't see me, or hear me, or feel me, doesn't mean I've stopped watching." He whispered softly into her ear. "I'll always be your guardian Angel, but it's time for you to move on. You can't change the past, but you can use it to make yourself stronger, okay?" She nodded. "Good. Now let's get you out of here."_

_"How?" She asked._

_"A connection." He said simply. "You just need someone on the other side to help you back."_

_"Am I dying?" She asked._

_"No, but your lost. Seeing Willow, you went into the closest thing a Slayer can get to catatonia. You fell into your role as the Slayer. Right now, your hunting vampires, with a very worried Thailog running along behind."_

_"Thailog?" Angel nodded._

_"You're the closest thing he has to family. You mean more to him than you think, so he's making sure you stay safe, even if it means his own life." Buffy gasped._

_"Am I really that important?" Angel looked down at her. "After everything that's happened, do I really matter?"_

_"Buffy, believe me, you do. When I first saw you, you were a little cheerleader in L.A, whose only care was making sure she wore the latest style. After I saw your first run in with vampires, all I wanted to do was help you. If it hadn't been for that, I would still be in the gutters, feeding on rats." Buffy looked at him in horror._

_"Oh my…you saw that?" Angel nodded. "Was I really that bad?"_

_"That's not important. What's important is that we get you home, so you can do your job." He looked at her, his eyes full of sadness. " And when you're done, I'll be waiting."_

_"Okay." She whispered. She was glad she got a chance to talk to him. It had made her feel better. And he was right she had to move on. "So, how do we do this, anyway?"_

_"All you have to do is call him. Reach out to him. He'll be able to guide you back." Buffy nodded and closed her eyes._

_"Thailog."_

"Buffy?" Thailog looked around. He had lost her sometime ago, and had almost lost hope. Now he was hearing her voice in his head. Was she driving him mad? No, he was driving himself mad because of how he felt. "Buffy, where are you?"

_In the black area, Buffy opened her eyes in surprise. "He heard me." Angel grinned._

_"Not hard, is it? I'd better go, it'll be easier for you if I wasn't here." He turned to leave. "Take care of yourself, and don't blame yourself for everything that happens. You're the Slayer, not God. I'll be watching."_

_"Thanks. For being here." She watched him fade away._

_"Don't mention it. Be good." And with that he was gone. Buffy closed her eyes. _

_"Thailog, help me."_

"Buffy, where are you?" Thailog climbed up the nearest building, hoping to get a better look around. If he was right, he wasn't to far from where the magic shop was. "I can't see you."

_"It's not quite that easy, big guy. Just get moving. You find my body. I'll try get back to it."_ Thailog started of the way he had been going, leaping from roof to roof.

"What does that mean?" He asked.

_"Basically, I'm lost. Everything that's happened recently has been too much for my system. Seeing Willow the vamp was too much for my mind. I've gone into a sort of catatonia."_

"The Slayer." Thailog said, looking carefully. "That's what you called yourself."

_"Yeah, that sounds about right. All I need is a hand."_

"How can I help you? I cannot even find you." Thailog was getting frustrated. How the hell was he supposed to help her?

_"You just have to be there. I need a guide, someone close, to help me back."_

"I will do what I can." For her, anything. "How do you know all this? Has this happened before?"

_"No, I had a little visit. From…from Angel."_ Thailog nearly stopped in his tracks at that comment.

"Angel? Are you sure it was him?" This was an interesting development. He subconsciously started to file away information for later use.

_"Yeah, it was him. He also said that we were in some kind of alternate reality, some other earth where I didn't exist."_ Thailog suddenly thought of the voices they had heard just before their arrival.

"Those voices. They are responsible."

_Buffy was walking through the darkness. She had this feeling that she had to go this way. Thailog was this way. "You know, you're probably right. Which means, whoever they are, they have some major answering when we get back."_

Back in the real world, Thailog nodded. "Agreed." He suddenly realized it was getting brighter. Came to a sudden stop. "Buffy, it's…" He turned to stone as the sun came up

_"Thailog?" Buffy reached for him. Suddenly, there was nothing. "THAILOG?" Still nothing. She sat on the ground, defeated. Thailog was gone, there was only one reason she could think of. He was dead, and she was doomed. She dropped her head into her hands, and started to cry. "Thailog?" She whimpered. "Help me." Nothing. "Angel."_

_"BUFFY!" Thailog screamed._

_"She can't hear you. Well, not at the moment anyway." He turned to face the owner of the voice. He was short, with snow-white hair. He was also floating three feet above the ground. "We'll fix that in a second. Right now, we need to talk." Thailog's eyes burned blood red._

_"If you do not tell me where she is, right now, I am going to tear your throat out." The last words were roared._

_"Geez, your as bad as Goliath. We can guess where your temper comes from anyway." Thailog stepped forward._

_"You know Goliath?" The small man suddenly appeared next to him._

_"You bet your purple butt I do."_

_"Who are you? What are you? Why are you here?"_

_"Whoa hold your horses. One question at time, grape ape." Thailog growled. "Okay, okay. Take easy, down boy. Anyone would think you were some kind of animal. Oops, some people do." He held his hand out. "I'm Puck."_

_"Puck?" Thailog stared at the hand. As in…_

_"Please, do not mention Shakespeare's play. I should have covered his hands in wart's before he started writing that thing. He made me out to be a total joker. Oh, that's right, I am." He started to laugh out loud. Thailog growled again._

_"I am beginning to lose my patience."_

_"Okay." Puck sighed. "Tough room. Okay, here's the deal. Three of Oberon's children, aptly named the Weird Sisters, have some kind of plans concerning you and your Slayer."_

_"She is not my anything." He growled menacingly. "She belongs to no one."_

_"Whatever you say." Puck said with a grin. "Anyway, they decided to help things along and organised your little trip. But they broke the rules in a big way." Puck did a mid air back flip. "Messing with mortals is against the rules to begin with, but they usually get away with that. Messing with the Slayer, though, that is a major no-no." He crowed in delight. "Their getting a big dressing down right now. Almost wish I could be there to see it. Anyway, Oberon sent me in as clean up crew. I'm supposed to help get the Slayer back in her right mind, then get the two of you home before any real damage is done." He stared pointedly at Thailog. "Which means we have to get you to her, before she loses all hope."_

_"How do we do that?" Hold on, Thailog thought. Please, Buffy, just hold on._

_"I can take you to her." Thailog turned around. The new comer was dressed head to toe in black. "But we have to hurry."_

_"Who are you, the new Grim Reaper?" Puck asked. He knew, of course. But he wasn't letting on._

_"I'm Angel." Thailog stared at him. Angel?_

_"You are…Angelus?" He asked. Angel winced._

_"Yeah, that was me."_

_"You are supposed to be dead."_

_"Why does everyone keep saying that?"_

_"Because you are." Puck said._

_"True." Angel agreed. "Come on, we gotta move. We don't have much time."_

_Buffy lay on the ground, she didn't know how long for. All she could think about was Thailog. He was dead and she knew it. She'd done it again, no matter how indirectly. And now, they were safe. All of them._

_"This way. Hurry." Angel said. Thailog ran along side on all fours. Puck floated a little ways behind._

_"If you knew where she was," Thailog said as they ran. "why didn't you help her?"_

_"I couldn't, no matter how much I wanted to." The Slayer's guardian said. "It has to be someone in the world of the living, someone who'd give it all to help her. You." Thailog nodded._

_"True. I just wish I knew what was going on sooner."_

_"Hey don't beat yourself up about it." Puck said, coming up beside him. "The only people who knew about the compulsive Slaying disorder were those tweed wearing wind bags at the Watcher's Council." He made a face. "I really have to get on someone's back about those clowns." Thailog growled._

_"When we get back, I think I'll have to have a little chat with this…Council." He spat the word like it was poison. "It seems to me that they are more of a threat to the Slayers than the vampire's are." Puck grinned._

_"I think I can organize for you to pop into Quentin Travers bedroom as he's settling in for the night if you want. No one needs to know about it. Oberon might even cheer me for it." He zipped ahead and looked at the other two innocently. "It's not direct interference, and besides, he's wanted to do something about them for centuries." Thailog grinned at the idea._

_"Deal." He said. Angel just smiled to himself. She'll be all right, he thought. Thailog will take care of her. He came to a halt and turned to Thailog._

_"You have to go on alone." He said to the gargoyle. "She's just up ahead."_

_"I'll meet you in the real world." Said Puck, and vanished. Angel looked at the one he had chosen to stand at Buffy's side._

_"Thailog." He said. "I'm leaving her in your hands. I'll look in on her from time to time, but it's up to you to protect her." Thailog nodded. "You take care of our girl." He held his hand out. Thailog took it gargoyle style, wrist to wrist._

_"I will." He said. Angel nodded, and released the grip._

_"Make sure you do." He said, and walked away. "I'll be watching." Thailog watched for a moment , then turned in the direction Angel had pointed. Buffy needed him._

_She lay there. She had stopped crying long ago. Now she just drifted in memories, and waited for Angel to come get her, to take her away._

_But that's not who showed up._

_"Buffy?" She moved slightly in recognition. She was hearing things. For a moment she thought… "Buffy, it's me. It's Thailog." She looked up, her eyes wide._

_"Thailog?" He smiled down at her._

_"It's all right. I'm here." He brushed a clawed talon through her hair. "And no, I'm not dead. The sun caught me while I was looking for you, mentally and physically. That's why I lost contact." She looked into his eyes. He was worried._

_"Then…how are you here now?"_

_Thailog chuckled. "It seems that the Slayers have more powerful friends than we thought. Oberon of the Fey sent one of his children to assist us. But that does not matter for the moment. What matters is getting you back to your body." He bent down and lifted her gently into his arms. He wrapped his wings around her, holding her as he would a baby. "I won't let anything happen to you."_

_He walked for what seemed to be years. After awhile, she stirred, and her eyes opened._

_"Thailog?" He stopped and looked down at her._

_"Good morning, Miss Summers." He said. "Have a nice sleep?"_

_"Very funny, grape ape." She muttered. He chuckled to himself. She hadn't lost her fire. It was just deadened. "You can put me down. I can walk , you know."_

_"If you're sure?" He asked hesitantly. She glared at him._

_"Put me down, or I kick your ass. I'm not a cripple, a baby, or a little girl who needs daddy to carry her." He laughed as he put her on her feet. "Thank you." She looked ahead, and saw a pinprick of light. "Is that…" He nodded._

_"The proverbial light at the end of the tunnel." He looked over at her, making sure she was all right. It was then that he noticed what she was wearing. "Where did that come from."_

_"What?" Buffy asked. Then she looked down. "Oh…my…" She was dressed in a black leather one piece, long legs, no sleeves, and a modest neckline. Around her waist was belt containing stakes of various sizes. The back of the belt held a kitana, on her left was a small dagger. Around her neck was the silver cross Angel had given her. "If he wasn't already dead…" She muttered. Thailog gave the outfit another look. "What are you looking at?"_

_"It suits you." He said, wondering how he said it with a straight face. Buffy blushed furiously._

_"Very funny." She muttered. "ANGEL! Get your ass back here so I can kick it up around your throat!"_

_"What?" Angel appeared next to Thailog. Buffy motioned towards her clothes. "Oh that." He winced as she glared at him. "Hey I didn't do that. You were wearing that when I found you. It does look good on you, though." Thailog nodded in agreement._

_"That's what I said." Buffy stared at the two of them._

_"If you two pervs are finished, anyone got a change of clothes?" Thailog looked at her amused. "What so funny?"_

_"Even if we had spare clothes, where would you get changed?" Buffy blushed even redder._

_"Look, it's not a physical change." Angel said. "Believe it or not, this is how you see yourself deep down. This is the Slayer as you see her." Buffy looked down at what she was wearing. It was comfortable. "Don't worry. Your still dressed in what you were wearing when you got brought here. This is just an astral projection, mental image."_

_"Oh." Buffy said. "Sorry." Angel grinned._

_"That's alright, I appreciate the view as much as the next man…or gargoyle." He vanished before either of them could say anything. Buffy stared at the spot where he had stood for a moment, then looked over at Thailog. She gave him a shy smile._

_"Come on," She said, gesturing towards the light. "let's move." Thailog nodded, and fell in beside her._

_It didn't take long for them to arrive. Buffy stood there for a moment. "Is something wrong?" Thailog asked._

_"This is my way out, but what about you?" She was worried, what if he was stuck here?_

_"For me this is merely a dream. When I awake, all will be well." Thailog explained. "For you, however, this is the only way. I will see you his evening." Buffy gave him a quick hug, trying not to stab him with any of the stakes on her belt. "Take care."_

_"You too, big guy." Buffy said, then turned, and walked into the light. Thailog watched it fade then sat down, hoping he was right._

The Slayer curled up on the floor. She was tired. This place was full of vampires. Good. It presented a challenge. But right now, she needed some sleep. She closed her eyes…

And opened them again. Buffy looked around, and grinned. Her house, or at least it would have been. Probably the only place that felt safe. She could relate. She got to her feet and started for the door.

"Welcome back." A voice said cheerfully behind her. She answered with a fierce back kick. "Hey watch it, will ya? Do I look like a target?" Buffy looked at the short, floating man.

"Who are you? Answer me now, or I break your neck." She said calmly. Too calmly, and that scared her.

"Do you have to be so violent? Names Puck." He held out his hand. She took it gingerly. "I'm here to help."

"You're that guy Thailog told me about, right?" Puck nodded. "Good, help me find him."

"You got it, sister." Puck began to chant.__

_"Mystic powers come to me,_

_The one named Thailog do we need._

_Will o' the wisp, spirits of the green,_

_Find him, Puck calls to thee."_ He held out his hand, and a small glowing ball appeared. "You know who we need, little guy. Go find him." The little ball bobbed once, then flew off. "Come on, Slayer. Let's go find your boyfriend." Buffy grabbed the fey by the scruff of the neck. "What?"

"He's not my boyfriend." She said menacingly.

"Okay, okay, okay. Geez, take a Valium, would ya? I'm sorry." Buffy dropped him.

"Let's move." She said and exited the house. The little floating ball was waiting for them. "So," she said, conversationally. "you found him yet?" The ball bobbed a few times, and took off. Puck floated along side her.

"How'd you do that?" He asked. "It should only answer to me."

"Quit your whinging. And let's move." Stay safe, big guy. I'm on my way. "So, what happens when we find him? How are you getting us home?"

"Well, actually, I can't, per se." Buffy looked over at him.

"What?"

"Well, one fey can't undo what another does." Buffy looked about to attack him. "But, big daddy Oberon has said that I can do whatever is necessary to help you to get home." Puck grinned evilly. "That means I can interfere all I need." He chuckled. "This could be fun."

"Wait a minute. If you can do whatever's necessary, why are we running after a floaty ball thingy." Puck came to stop suddenly.

"I was wondering when you'd think of that." Buffy stared at him.

"Why didn't you just do it in the first place?" Puck shrugged.

"Oberon smacked some limitations on it."

"Like?"

"You have to ask, I can't kill anyone, and if we meet the big bad, you have to face that yourself." Buffy nodded.

"Agreeing with the last one. I definitely want a piece of whoever's responsible." Puck looked at her for a moment, then chuckled.

"That would be a fun match to watch. Need a hand finding the creep?" Buffy smiled.

"After we find Thailog." Puck gave a flourishing bow.

"Your wish is my command." There was a flash, and they disappeared.

They reappeared in front of Thailog. There was a look of horror frozen on his face. Buffy shivered slightly.

"At least he's in one piece." Puck glanced over at her. "He must have been worried about me, at this moment, when the sun came up." Puck nodded.

"You mean a lot to the lug." He said. "He worries when he can't protect you. Strange that." Buffy cast a curious glance his way. "Goliath's the same way about Detective Maza. They're more alike than either will admit." Buffy looked at the gargoyle.

"Well, now it's my turn." She said. "I could use some weapons." Puck nodded.

"I think I can manage something." He gestured. A light surrounded Buffy's waist. When it died down, she wore the same belt she had in her dream trip, complete with stakes, sword and dagger.

"Wow." She examined one of the stakes, then the sword and finally the dagger. "This is amazing. This stuff is, like, way more than I expected."

"Well don't look at me." Puck admitted. "I just supplied the magic. You decided on the weapons." He bent to have a closer look. "Nicely crafted. You wanna keep 'em?" Buffy's eyes went wide at the thought.

"Rather!" She exclaimed excitedly. "Can I?"

"Well, it's not like I could _un_create it." He thought for a moment. "Well, I probably could, but it would be way to hard. So, you may as well keep them." Buffy pumped her fists in the air. "Your welcome." He noticed it was starting to get dark. "Hmm, took a little longer than we thought." He said, turning to Thailog. Buffy followed his gaze, as the sun went down.

"Show time." Buffy said as cracks ran down Thialog's body. His eyes opened, shining blood red. With a roar, he exploded out of his stone skin. Shards flew around him. When it was over, he stood for a moment, then turned to them. For a brief moment, she thought he had been wrong, that he hadn't gotten back to his body. Then he grinned at her. She breathed a sigh of relief and walked over to him. "Hey, big guy."

"Buffy. You made it back, I see." Thailog said. He noticed the belt around her waist. "A new look."

"What? Oh, that." She absently brushed a hand over the hilt of the dagger. "Little gift from Puck." He looked over at the fey, who shrugged.

"She asked for weapons, she got weapons."

"No, I got family heirlooms." She said with a grin. "Not that I don't mind."

"Very impressive." A grin spread over his face. "How about a matching leather one piece?" Puck grinned briefly. Buffy turned to him menacingly.

"Don't even think about." She said, then walked towards the edge of the building. As she past by Thailog, she whispered quietly in his ear, "That little look's for two men in particular. And your one of them." She kept walking as he went red.

_"Is this what you were looking for?" Oberon, Lord of Avalon, asked the three fey before him. While it was true that they often meddled in the affairs of mortals without punishment, this time they had gone too far. "Why have you done this? Answer me!" The three sisters looked at each other._

_"We did this to preserve the prophecy of Madoc's return. There is a danger to it, that the Slayer must be ready to face." Explained the blonde._

_"Angelus' death weakened her…" Began the raven-haired sister._

_"Leaving a void in her heart. This left her open to attack." Finished the silver haired._

_"Why the Slayer? What role does she play in your…prophecy?" He had never believed this prophecy of theirs._

_"There is a danger to those who would bring man and gargoyle together." The silver haired began this time._

_"It is a threat that the Slayer must be prepared to deal with." The blonde stated._

_"Why the clone, though. Why not another, true born, gargoyle." The raven- haired shrugged._

_"He needed her as much as she needed him. Without her help, he would have become dangerous in his own right, obsessed with destroying his own kind." Oberon sat back in his chair. There was always an answer with these three. What to do though? This time they had to be punished. They had crossed the line. Suddenly, a thought came to him._

_" Very well, if you believe it necessary that they are prepared, then it shall be done." He stood, and locked his gaze on the three fey before him. "From now, until they face this trial you speak of, you shall be their guardians. It shall be your role to prepare them and, until it is done, you shall not step foot on Avalon's shores." The Weird Sisters gaped in horror. Oberon raised his hand before they could speak. "So decrees Oberon."_

_"As our lord commands." They intoned, and then vanished to fulfil the role that had been given to them. Oberon sat back on his throne. It was done._

"So, where to?" Puck asked. They were on the streets, watching the shadows. Thailog hung close to Buffy. If Willow was a vampire in this crazy world, then the same may be said for the others. He did not know if she could handle another meeting like that, but he wasn't going to find out.

"Well, the Library's a no-go and my house is trashed." Buffy said. Despite the different realities, it was still her house, her town, which meant she still had a job to do. "That leaves the manor."

"What of Giles' home?" Thailog asked. Buffy shrugged.

"I actually don't know where he lives."

"Giles, Giles, where does that sound familiar?" He floated in front of them, tapping his chin.

"Do you have to float in front of me like that?" Buffy asked. "I can't see through you, you know."

"Oh." Puck faded from sight. "Is that better?" Buffy nodded with a grin.

"Much." She looked back at Thailog. "Chill out, big guy."

"I am sorry." She said. "I…am worried."

"That I'm going to flip out again?" He nodded. "Relax, I'm over it. I'm one hundred percent in control." She thought for a moment. "Well, maybe ninety nine." Suddenly, Puck reappeared, snapping his fingers.

"That's it!"

"Hey, watch it." Puck had reappeared on her head. Needless to say, she was a might upset.

"Sorry." He said. Then grinned. "So, you know Ripper, hey?"

"Ri…wait a sec. You knew Giles in his pre-Watcher days?" Puck nodded.

"Indeed I did. He had quite a rep around the mystical circles in those days. Quite the troublemaker. Needless to say, we got on quite well."

"I'll bet." Buffy said with a grin. They reached an intersection. Puck turned right. "Hey, the manors this way." She said, pointing left.

"Yeah, but Ripper's this way." Buffy eyes went wide.

"Giles? Here? Is he…?" Puck shook his head.

"Nope, very much alive. Dabbling again, too." Puck said. "Come on."

"Express?" Buffy asked. Puck grinned.

"Why not?" The three of them disappeared.

He had to work fast. He didn't have long until the witch homed in on him. If that happened…he shuddered. He didn't want to think about it.

Suddenly, there was a flash of green light. When it cleared, there was a girl, a purple gargoyle, and…

"Puck?" The man stood up. Buffy turned in his direction.

"Oh God." Tears welled in her eyes. It was Giles, but he looked…different. Older, without hope. "Giles?" She reached her hand out. He flinched away.

"Easy, Ripper." Puck said. "She's one of the good guys. So's he." He pointed a thumb towards Thailog. Giles looked the two of them over.

"Relax." Buffy said softly. "We're here to help."

"You can't." Giles whispered. "No one can. It's only a matter of time. The best we can do is hide." She slapped him fiercely. He fell on his back.

"Snap out of it." She said, just as fierce. "I can't believe you've just…given up." Giles looked up at her. Thailog placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay. He 's not the Giles you know, remember? There is no knowing what he's been through." Buffy's head sagged.

"Yeah, I guess…He's always been support guy, y'know? When I wanted to give up…" Puck touched down next to Giles.

"She's a pistol, isn't she?" Puck said. Giles rubbed his cheek.

"Where did you find her?" Puck shrugged.

"An alternate reality, where she's the Slayer, you're her Watcher." Giles stared at him. "What? Is it that hard to believe?"

"I guess not. I… Oh God." He turned back to his spell. "I have to complete the masking spell. If she finds me…"

"She who?" Buffy asked. A hand unconsciously went to her kitana hilt.

"Willow. The witch enjoys torturing the mystically inclined, just before she drains their mystical energy along with their blood." Buffy felt her heart break again.

"She's dead." Giles looked up at her. "I don't know what exactly happened, but…she's dust." She looked around, and then headed for the door. "I'm gonna do a quick sweep. Just the area of the building. Just in case." She walked out the door. Thailog followed her.

"What was that?" Giles asked. Puck shook his head.

"In her world, Willow was her friend. Seeing her a vampire, she went over the edge." Giles stared at the fey. "Without Thailog, we would never have brought her back."

"Oh God." Giles breathed.

"Buffy." Thailog caught up with her. "Are you all right?" She turned and gave him a weak smile.

"I'm dealin'." She said. "It's just…" Thailog pulled her into a quick hug.

"It's all right." He whispered. "I'm here."

"Oh well isn't this cute?" Thailog's head came up. It couldn't be.

Buffy turned. She recognised the voice too.

It was hers.

The other Buffy grinned. By her side was a face Thailog knew to well.

"Goliath?" Buffy turned to face him.

"That's…" She had another look. It certainly looked a little like Thailog, except for the lavender skin.

"Well, this is a surprise." Goliath said. "Does she taste like you, lover?" His face changed. His cheeks sunk, his nose ridge became more prominent, and his eyes burned yellow. The other Buffy grinned again (or still, Buffy couldn't tell).

"Do you want to find out, baby?" She cooed.

"What the hell is going on here?" Buffy asked. "I thought there was no me on this earth." Evil Buffy grinned.

"There isn't. I've been doing some travelling too." She stroked Goliath's hair. "Of course, I've found reasons to stay in this dimension." Then she, too, pulled out a vamp face. Buffy groaned.

"Isn't anyone what they're supposed to be on this hell hole?" Thailog went ridged next to her. What the hell was this? Buffy, a vampire?

"How did this happen?" He growled. "And when?" Buffy the vamp laughed.

"Why, hoping to stop it happening to your Buffy?" She sneered. "I doubt it. You weren't around when it happened." Buffy the Slayer looked over at Thailog, then at her vampy counter part. What had happened to Thailog? "It's very easy really. In the upcoming battle against the big bad, you die." Buffy's mouth went wide. "It happened during an eclipse. You thought that the eclipse would wake you from your stone sleep. You were wrong." Her eyes misted over. "I remember finding you broken pieces. I cried for days before finally coming out. When I did, there was nothing left for me. That's when Spike found me." A wicked grin crossed her face. Buffy shook her head. No way. "I'm afraid so, honey. I didn't care, so I just let him feed. I figured he'd just leave it at that. This time, I was wrong. He turned me, but I got some revenge. I drained him dry." She laughed. "Do you have any idea what it's like, to completely drain one's sire? No, of course you don't, not yet. But you will. You can't change the past. I tried, once I found the gateway."

"So what, you failed, then decided to destroy another earth?" Slayer Buffy asked. She filed away the story for later use. This wasn't happening to her. No chance in hell.

Vamp Buffy grinned piteously at her. "You don't understand, not yet. I tried, and I tried. Fighting along side myself. Trying to persuade Thailog not to go. He never listened. I could never stop it. Then it happened." She ran her hand through Goliaths hair again. He reached out and grabbed her around the waist, kissing her full on the lips. "Not now, lover." She murmured. "I have to give myself a little insight." She turned back to the other two, her past. "You see, I over shot, landing in Dark Ages Scotland, on a dark lonely road. There was caravan that a gang of vampires had just struck. A small group of gargoyles was investigating it, and that's when I saw young Goliath. I marked him, then made a trip forward in time."

"To claim him." Thailog breathed. He could not believe that Buffy could ever become this…creature.

Vamp Buffy laughed again. "Not yet, dear friend." She said mockingly. "First I had to make sure there was no one to protect him, which meant killing my counter part." Buffy gagged at that.

"You…killed her." Buffy said. Her hands clenched around the hilt of her kitana.

"Very good." Her evil counter part congratulated her. "After that was taken care of, I moved to New York. I took him there, before Xanatos could clone him." She grinned, rubbing a hand down Goliaths arm. "So you see, this lovely, dark world is all my doing. And you are not needed." Buffy clenched her teeth, then noticed something.

And smiled.

"You never made this trip." She murmured. The vamp version cocked her head.

"What was that, dear?"

"You never made this trip." The slayer said, louder. "The Weird Sisters never sent you to this dimension, so you never met yourself."

"And never got the warning." Thailog finished the train of thought. "How did you figure it out?"

"No swords." Buffy said, pointing to where Goliath had his arm. "If she was me, vamp or not, there was no way she would have left the swords. So, she never made the trip." She grinned at her counter part. "The one thing you never thought of." Vamp Buffy thought a bit, then snarled.

"It doesn't matter." She sneered. "What's done is done, and I wouldn't change a thing. Goliath," She looked at her gargoyle. "snack time, baby."

"Finally." He growled, and launched himself at her.

"NO!" Thailog roared, slamming Goliath in mid air. "You will not hurt her." The gargoyle vamp grinned.

"Who's going to stop me, you?" He snorted. "Clone or not, no gargoyle could hurt a member of his clan." Thailog grinned.

"Something she never told you then." He said. "I was never a member of the clan." He launched forward, talons outstretched. He had had enough of creatures trying to take his Buffy away. He would not allow it. He drove his right fist into Goliaths jaw. He heard a satisfying crack as several teeth broke, and the vampire/gargoyle fell to the ground. He staggered to his feet, spitting out teeth as he did so.

"You will pay for that." He roared, and launched forward. Thailog grabbed him by the arms and threw him to one side. He then picked up a shard of wood sitting on the ground.

"You will not hurt her." He growled. "I don't care who you are. No one will hurt her ever again. Never again!" He roared the last two words, as he rammed the stake through the originals heart.

"How…?" It was the last word to cross his lips. They watched as he turned to dust.

"Goliath?" Vamp Buffy whispered. Then she exploded with rage. "You shit! Do you know how long I had to work on him to get him like that? How many of his loved ones I had to turn against him before he devoted himself to me? All that work, and now you do that!" She launched at him. "You'll just have to take his place!"

"Not likely, skank!" The Slayer jumped into action, sword and dagger drawn. "Keep your fangs to yourself. This is where your little sob story ends." Two feet connected and the vamp went down. She came up in a crouch, an inhuman growl coming from her throat. "Aw, what's wrong, doggy got tummy ache?"

"Your dead!"

"I think you're a bit confused. See, you're the one with no heart beat." Buffy the vampire roared and charged. Buffy the Slayer met with the hilt of her kitana, smashing it into her counter parts nose. "Oh, nose not looking too good. You might want to see someone about that, though it does look better." The vamp struck out with a fierce combination. Each shot was blocked. Thailog looked on, amused. This version of Buffy was used to her strength and skill overcoming all opponents. But against his Buffy, who's skill matched her own, who knew her every move, all she had to rely on was her strength, and while that was greater, the Slayer wasn't giving her a chance to use, using hit and run tactics and keeping her mad through taunts, clouding her judgment. "This is useless. There is no way there's going to be a clear winner. We know the moves to well." The vamp growled.

"Maybe, but I think I'll wear you down first." She was right, of course. Slayer Buffy had to think of something. Then she had an idea. She broke off the attack, and then just stared at her counter part.

"What would he think?" She said.

"Who?" The vamp growled.

"Angel." Vamp Buffy stared, returning to her human form in the shock. Slayer Buffy kept a straight face.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"I mean; what would he think if he saw you like this." The vamp faltered, looking confused. "I mean, he was kind, gentle, loving, and I'm guessing you felt the same way about him as I did. How would he feel, seeing you like this?"

"He wouldn't care. He was just as cruel and evil."

"But that's not the one we fell in love with, was it? And that one, Angel, not Angelus, he would care." The vamp looked like she'd been kicked in the stomach. "Wouldn't he?" Tears started down her face.

"Oh…" She whispered. "What have I become? What…Angel. Oh God, I am so sorry. I betrayed you, I let you down." Thailog moved over next to the Slayer.

"How did you know that would work?" Buffy shrugged.

"I didn't." She admitted. "But, when she was talking about your death, I could see it, in her eyes. She still felt it, the pain." The same pain I would feel, she thought, and swore on all that was holy that she would not let that happen. "That meant, deep down, she had somehow kept a hold of at least a scrap of her soul." She put the blades away, and walked over to her counter part, who was still mumbling away in remorse. "You okay?" The vamp shook her head. "I'm sorry I did that, but…"

"You had no choice." Vamp Buff said. "I was out of control, I understand, but…when I think of the things I did…kill me." Slayer Buff stared at her. "Please, just do it. I don't deserve to live anymore."

"Hey, no need for dusting just yet. You can make up for what you did." The vamp looked up, and saw the kind face she used to have. "This world still needs a hero. You can undo what you've done."

"How?" The vamp asked.

"Uh, with help, maybe?" They both turned to see Giles stumble out of the building. "If you'll have me, that is." Vamp Buffy grinned, no fangs.

"I could use some Watching…if you don't mind."

"I think we can manage." The Watcher said with a grin.

"Way to go, Ripper." Puck said slapping him on the back.

"And perhaps," Thailog put in. "if he exists on this earth, you could find Angel." Vamp Buff's eyes instantly lit up.

"You think so?"

"Anything's possible." Slayer Buff said. "With help." There was a flash of light, and the Weird Sisters appeared. "Not ours, unfortunately. That's our ride." She gave her counter part a quick hug. "Take care of yourself."

"You too. And take better care of Thailog than I did." Slayer Buff began to walk of to Giles. "It's the Mayor." The Slayer turned.

"What?"

"The big bad. It's Mayor Wilkins. He's trying to become a giant snake demon thingy. It's called the Ascension." She grinned a little. "It'll take an explosion with the force of a small volcano to kill, and it has to be done after he Ascends, which is on graduation day." Slayer Buff grinned back.

"Thank you." She said. "You just saved us months of really boring research." Vamp Buff gave her a thumbs up. Slayer Buff turned to Giles and embraced him. "Take care of her, and yourself. She'll need all the help you can give her."

"She'll have it. Say hello to my counter part."

"Will do." She said. She turned to the Weird Sisters. "'Bout time you showed up." She muttered darkly. They looked back passively. "Can we go home now?" In response, they circled Thailog and Buffy.

"See you later." Puck said, then disappeared from sight. Then the sisters began to chant.

_"Lost in time, lost in space,_

_Taken from another place,_

_Mists of Avalon, gather round,_

_Return these travellers, homeward bound." _A thick mist gathered around them, a strange light emanating from within. When it cleared, they were gone.

Vamp Buff and Giles stood for a moment. The she turned to him. "Let's get started." She said, eager to see if Angel still existed in this dimension.

"Shall we?" Giles offered the crook of his elbow. She took it, and they strode into the building. As they walked in, Buffy noticed the sign for the first time. She had to admit it was the last place she would have expected to find Giles.

"Never thought I'd see you in the Bronze."

Buffy looked up. They had arrived in front of the high school, which was in one piece. "Well, it hasn't been blown up." She thought of her counter parts warning. "Yet." Thailog grinned.

"Hellmouth, sweet Hellmouth?"

"Something like that." She turned to see the Weird Sisters standing behind them. "Why are you still here?"

"They don't have a choice." Said Puck as he appeared, in a singsong voice. "They were trying to prepare you for some big confrontation, with their little road trip, so that's their punishment." He started to dance around them. "And they can't return to Avalon til it's o-ver." He sang.

"It is true."

"We have over stepped the boundaries."

"This is our punishment." The three replied. Buffy looked them up and down.

"Well, if your going to hang around, you'll need to fit in." The sisters began to glow. When the glow died, they were wearing tight, black jeans, white tops, and high heals. "Nice trick." Buffy said. She turned to Puck. You hanging around to."

"Nope." The trickster said. "I got things to do, places to go, people to prank. Ta-ta." And with that he disappeared.

"Well, let's get inside." Buffy said. Thailog followed closely. The weird Sisters watched a moment.

"It would seem that our plan worked to well." Said the blonde.

"Indeed." Her silver haired sister replied. "She is more confident than ever. I believe she may be able to do this."

"We must remain cautious." The raven-haired said. "The next meeting will not go so easily." They nodded in agreement and headed in doors.

That'a it for that one. Just a taste of what might have bee. You want more…REVIEW!

Next: Faith finds a new Slayer, a new fighting style and something about herself that she never thought possible.


	4. Sunnydale Happenings

Greetings and salutations. I'm back with more Buffy/Thailog action. Things are getting screwier than usual from here. Take what you know about the characters and throw it out the window, cause nothing is as you expect it. You were warned.

Things changed after Buffy and Thailog's side trip, some for the better, some for the worse. Time moves on, though and danger still threatens.

Buffy ran the brush through her hair one more time, thinking back over the past two weeks since getting back. Things had once more settled back into the insane pace she now associated to the life of the Slayer. The Slayerettes, now knowing the deal, had settled into preparing for Graduation, and the battle against the Mayor. They were fully committed to preparing their classmates for what was coming, filling them in on the real happenings in Sunnydale. Despite everything, none of them were prepared for the biggest shock, one that affected them all. Especially Xander.

Two days after Thailog and hers return, Cordelia, ditzy, flaky Cordelia, was revealed as a spy. For the past year and a half, she had been giving the Mayor information on them, preparing for the inevitable confrontation. The information had shocked them all, but it was Xander who was suffering the most. He had withdrawn further into himself, more often than not going missing for days before returning to the manor. None of them could get him to open up, and it was taking a toll on all of them. Willow was at her wits end trying to get her friend to talk to her.

Buffy shook her hair out. She would dwell on that later. Right now, she had a date. She grinned at that thought. Had you approached her a month ago and told her that she would be dating Thailog, she would have laughed at thought. Now, it was the most natural thing in the world. Even mom had warmed quickly to the thought of her daughter dating the purple gargoyle. "Better than a vampire." She'd said on their first meeting. Buffy turned to the door, about to head down when there was a knock on the window. She turned, thinking it was Thailog. Instead, there was a small olive green gargoyle looking at her. She walked over to the window and opened it.

"Are you Buffy?" The creature asked. Buffy nodded. "This is for Thailog." He handed an envelope to her. "From Goliath." Buffy looked at the small gargoyle as she took the envelope.

"How did you find me?" She asked. The gargoyle grinned.

"Same way you found Elisa." Buffy tried not to laugh. "Well, see ya."

"Hey wait a minute. I didn't get your name." The gargoyle hesitated.

"Name's Lexington." He said, before launching into the air. Buffy watched him leave, then turned, putting the envelope in her purse. She'd give that to Thailog tonight.

Xander looked down from his perch. There were rumours of something going down in the warehouse he was sitting on. What, he wasn't sure, but if it was a danger to his town, he was going to take care of it. He grinned. His town. Not long ago, he would have conceded that guarding Sunnydale was Buffy's job, but vampires and demons weren't the only dangers in Sunnydale. There were other, slightly more normal dangers, gangs, robberies, that escaped the Slayers notice. The cops too, and that was the worry. Underneath Sunnydales weirdness façade was an environment that fostered normal criminal activity, and the cops seemed to turn a blind eye. That had gotten his attention. Closer investigation showed that around seventy per cent of Sunnydale PD was corrupt, and twenty-five were on their way there. He had even seen officers taking bribes from vampires. It disgusted him and he had dedicated himself to defending the few decent people left in Sunnydale. He looked down over the edge of the roof. A limo pulled up. Xander grimaced. This was bad; these sorts of things didn't usually include limousines. Whoever this was, they were high society. He watched intently as the driver opened the door. As he saw who got out, his heart almost stopped. " Cordelia Chase." He breathed. "What are you doing here?" He watched as the limo pulled off leaving Cordelia alone. She entered the warehouse. Xander moved to the skylight, where he saw someone else he recognised. "Sevarius." He hissed. "My two favourite people, together in one place. What fun." He watched as they talked for a minute. There was an exchange, and then they left. After a moment, he decided to follow Cordelia. He could get the info out of her, and if he needed to, go after Sevarius later.

Cordelia moved quickly. She had to meet the limo driver on the corner, and then take the stuff to the Mayor. She hoped this stuff did what it was supposed to do.

"Hey, Cordy." A voice said. It came from above. "Got time for an ex-boyfriend?" Xander landed in front of her. Cordelia gasped a little.

"What do you want?" She demanded. She hadn't seen him since the Slayerettes had caught her out, she had tried to avoid going outdoors at night. Typical, the one night the boss gave her an errand, she'd run into the one who she had hurt the most. "I'm busy."

"What with?" He said, looking at the package under her arm.

"None of your business." Cordelia snapped. Xander dropped his neutral attitude.

"When it has to do with Sevarius, hell if it happens in Sunnydale, it's my business." He growled. "What's in the package?"

"That's for me to know and Buffy to find out." Cordelia said, then realised her mistake as he slammed her against a wall.

"What are you planning?" He growled, his giant hand wrapped around her throat.

"G-go to hell." She gurgled. Xander dropped her, than picked up the package. "Don't touch that!" She said, lunging for it. Xander leapt over her, digging his claws into a near by wall.

"I guess this is pretty important." He said. "I'll just take this and see what happens." He clambered up the wall, leaving Cordelia standing there, watching as he got away. The Mayor was not going to be happy. 

Buffy cuddled close as Thailog glided through the air. It was nice to be able to relax in the arms of her boyfriend without having to worry about some demon busting in. She looked up at the gargoyles face. He smiled back at her. "Did you enjoy yourself?" She smiled. It had started on the roof of the manor. Candles, wine, the whole shebang. They followed that with a visit to the local cinemas, gargoyle style (from the top balcony). Now, it was a midnight glide around Sunnydale, just the two of them.

"Perfect." She whispered. She looked down as they passed over the school. She noticed a familiar shape walk in. "Xander?" Thailog followed her gaze, just to see the young mutate gargoyle's tail pass through the door. "We better get down there."

Xander sat on the roof of the school. He came here some times to think. He opened the package. Inside, there was a dart gun, complete with darts. He wondered what was in the darts this time. He looked up, seeing Willow and Oz walking towards the library. He thought for a moment. He had kept a distance between himself and the others since finding out about Cordelia. There were too many memories, too much pain. But if Buffy was in trouble, it was time to move on. He launched himself towards the ground. Time to join his friends once more.

He landed in front of the door, moving in slowly. It felt like years since he had last walked these halls last. He could still hear his schoolmate's voices. It hurt, but the pain didn't matter. Buffy was in trouble, and he could be the only chance she had. He moved forward, towards the library. He burst through the doors, trying as hard as he could to get that old Xander attitude back.

"So, what's new, gang?" He said, smiling as goofily as he could. "Stopped the Apocalypse without me yet?" The others spun, surprised.

"Xander." Willow couldn't believe it. She ran up to her friend, hugging him like she wouldn't let go. "I don't believe it, what are you doing here?"

"What, I'm not welcome anymore?" He said, jovially. "I'm insulted." Oz walked over to them, draping an arm around the young gargoyle shoulder.

"You had us worried there, man." He said.

"Who, me?" Xander said, feigning surprise. "Why worry? I'm like Superman, the male Slayer over here. I kick ass, take names and look good doing it." He looked over at Faith. She looked at him. He was hurting more than he let on, but she wasn't going to let anyone know until he was ready.

"I thought that was my job." She said.

"Well, yeah, but I have a harder time." Xander said.

"Oh, I don't know. Gargoyles aren't that bad looking." Buffy said, walking in on Thailog's arm. "At least, mine isn't." Thailog grinned down at her.

"Yeah, well, we can't all look like some Greek gargoyle god can we?" Xander said as the two walked in. He handed the package to Buffy. "I lifted this off our friend, Ms Chase." He said. "As far as I can tell, it's aimed at you." Buffy opened the package, removing the dart gun. "Ordinarily I wouldn't worry, but I saw the swap. She got it off Sevarius." Thilog growled slightly. Faith stiffened. Giles, who had remained silent till now, looked up. "Hence, my worry."

"Yeah, I can see that." She looked up at Thailog. "What do you think?"

"I'm not sure. It would help if we knew for certain who the target is." He sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, we need specialised help. I must make a trip to New York. I'm afraid I will have to take this to the only man who knows Sevarius' work."

"Xanatos?" Buffy said, worried. Then she remembered the message from Goliath. She took it from her purse. "This came for you, from Goliath." Thailog took it hesitantly. "A little green gargoyle, called himself Lexington, delivered it."

"Whoa, little guy, webbed wings, olive green?" Xander said. Buffy nodded. "I saw him on my way here. He was meeting someone with a truck, red hair." Thailog shook his head.

"I do not know this one. The only friend the clan has to my knowledge is Elisa Maza." He said.

"And unless she's a he, it wasn't her." Xander said. Thialog opened the envelope, reading the letter inside.

"He wishes to open communications." He said. "It seems he accepts that I am trying to make amends. He will be in Sunnydale in a week." A shiver ran up Buffy's spine.

"Call me crazy, but I've got a real bad feeling about this." She said. "Think we can still find this Lexington?" Willow jumped up and down, almost knocking down Xander in the process.

"Oh, oh, I know." She said. "There's a spell we can use. It's simple, doesn't require much more than a mental picture. I know I can cast it."

"I don't know, Willow." Giles said. "You really haven't enough practice, there's no telling what may happen."

"I can do this, Giles." Willow said, almost pleadingly. "It's easy, not exactly a Spell of Restoration." She flinched slightly and looked apologetically at Buffy. "Oops. Sorry." Buffy shrugged, but her eyes told a different story.

"No big." She said. "Right now, we've got work to do." She looked at Thailog, business like. "Can you and Xander check things from the air. You'll probably find him a lot easier."

"Um, Buffy?" Faith said. "Probably a stupid idea, but what about those three weirdos that you brought back from your side trip?" Buffy stared at the other Slayer.

"Okay, didn't think of that." Buffy said, reaching for the amulet the Weird Sisters had given her. "Those three have got to be good for something."

"You mean besides all the extra training." Oz said. Xander stared at the werewolf.

"That's my line." He said.

"Sorry, I just got to get used to having you around again." Oz said.

"It's like a comedy club in here." Giles said, going into his office.

"Just like old times." Buffy said, gripping the amulet tight. "Pheobe, Luna, Selene, I need your help."

"As you call."

"We have arrived."

"What do you need, Slayer?" The three appeared by on of the book shelves, dressed as they were when Buffy returned form her side trip.

"We got a visit from one of Goliath's clan, Lexington." Buffy said. "I know it's a bit below you, but could you get a message to him before he heads back to Manhatten. Tell him we won't be able to meet for a while. Things to do, demons to kill, you know." She thought for a moment. "Ask them if they know anyone but Xanatos who might be able to tell us what's in this." She handed a dart to Luna. "Tell them it's one of Sevarius'."

"Very well." Pheobe said.

"It shall be done." Selene continued.

"How was your date?" Luna asked.

"I'll fill you in after you deliver the message." Buffy said. The three nodded and disappeared.

"Those three seem very interested in your relationship." Giles said, coming back out.

"Yeah, they do." Buffy said. She shrugged. "Maybe they've never had a boyfriend."

"Giles, can I ask something." Willow said. "Why do you always leave the room before the Weird Sisters arrive?" Giles looked at her, desperately trying to think of an answer.

"Perhaps it has something to do with his friendship with Puck." Thailog said. Giles stared at him. His mouth was working, but nothing was coming out.

"Real smooth, sweetie." Buffy said.

"You know Puck?" Willow said, staring at the Watcher.

"How…" Giles stared at the gargoyle.

"We met him, remember?" Buffy said. "He told us that he knew you when you were going around by Ripper."

"Wow, you know someone from one of Shakespeare's plays." Oz said. "Cool."

"You know one of Shakespeare's plays." A mischevious voice floated through the Library. "Not bad. And here I thought werewolves didn't take notice of those sort of things." Puck came into sight, floating just above Oz's head.

"Dear God." Giles muttered. "It's been a while, Puck." The fey cackled.

"Not long enough, Ripper?" He asked with a grin. Giles gave his own small mischeivious grin.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that." Giles said. "What are you up to this time?"

"What, no 'how are you Puck'? I'm insulted." The fey held a hand on his heart.

"Oh, you'll get over it." Buffy said. "What's up?"

"Oh, I just thought I'd check in on my favourite Slayer, see how the Three Weirdoes are treating you." Puck said.

"I don't believe that is your business, Puck." Luna said as the sisters appeared.

"We know what must be done, and what Buffy needs to know." Selene continued.

"We do not need you checking in on us." Pheoebe completed.

"That's your opinion." Puck said huffily.

"Come on, Puck, spill." Buffy said. "What are you up to?"

"Who me?" He asked innocently. "Truth is, Wilkins isn't the only one trying to get rid of you and Faith. I found out there's a law firm in LA looking to get you out of the way."

"What?" Buffy asked. She looked over at Giles. "Well?" He shrugged.

"If there is such a plot, no one has alerted me of it." Giles said. "Perhaps the Council doesn't know about it."

"They know." A voice said. Buffy turned as Wesley Wyndam-Price walked in. "I just heard. They organised it. They are displeased with your attitudes."

"Well ain't that a pity." Faith muttered. Buffy glared at Wesley.

"Um, yes." The younger Watcher said. "As soon as this altercation with the Mayor is resolved, Wolfram & Hart move in and kill the both of you." Buffy fumed at him.

"And what happens to everyone else? Wills, Xand, Oz, my mom, Thailog, Giles? What about them?" She demanded.

"Expendable." Wes spat. "I'm as disappointed as you. I never thought them possible of such an act."

"Probably why they're acting through good ol' W&H." Puck said. He looked over at Thailog. "Still wanna take that trip to visit Travers?" Thailog growled, and nodded.

"I think it is about time someone put the fear of God in this bastard." He muttered.

"Don't do anything stupid." Buffy said to her boyfriend.

"Who, me?" He said, in perfect imitation of Puck.

"I'm serious." She said. "They gave me a 'test' on my eighteenth. Their test endangered my mother and me. Giles lost his job because he told me what was going on. He's not above killing you to get me." She looked up at him. She was worried, he could tell. He hugged her tight.

"I'll be fine. Puck will be with me." He told her. Xander stepped forward.

"He won't be alone." He said. "Two gargoyles'll scare him more than one. 'Sides, no one messes with my girls. Any of them." He looked at Buffy, then Willow, and finally at Faith. Their eyes locked briefly, then they looked away. "He needs to be taught a lesson." Buffy looked at them both.

"There's no way I can change your minds, huh?" She asked. Thailog shook his head.

"You serious?" Xander asked. "What's the use of looking like this if you can'r use it to scare the crap out some ass hole that messes up your friends lives?" He grinned goofily. "Now, where is Mister Head Watcher Dude, and can I hurt him a bit?"

"Don't kill him." Buffy said forcefully. Xander sighed.

"Can I cover his car with cheese instead?" Puck floated up next to him.

"I think I'm gonna like you kid." He said. "Well, let's go." With that, Puck, Xander and Thailog disappeared.

"I hop they don't get in to much trouble." Buffy said. Faith stood back silently, thinking abou the look Xander had given her. She sighed, frustrated. Why her?

Quentin Travers took a sip of his scotch. Things were going well. The two Slayers would take care of Wilkins, then Wolfram & Hart would take care of them. Then he could get a real Slayer, one that did what she was told. Maybe the Australian. She was an orphan; there was no background of emotional attachment. Yes, she would…

A flash of light behind him broke his train of thought. He turned and was greeted with a sight that both amazed and terrified him.

Two gargoyles were standing there, staring at him. A short man with white hair floated (yes, floated) behind them.

"That's him." The small man said.

"So," The younger gargoyle said. "which limbs do you want?" The large one stared at Travers, with what Travers could only guess was hatred burning in his eyes.

"Who are you?" He demanded. "What are you doing here?" The purple gargoyle grabbed him by the collar, slamming him against the door.

"Funny thing, nothing I ever seem to hear about you is very flattering." He said. "I was perfectly happy to let you run your little Council as long as you never endangered Buffy. Now I hear you're planning to have her killed. "Now, naturally, I'm none to impressed with that, so I'm only going to say this once." His eyes began to glow a blood red. A growl tore from his throat. "You even think about hurting her, or her friends, and you will be shitting in a paper bag and eating through a straw for the rest of your life. Do you understand?"

"How dare you?" The Watcher demanded.

"Simple." The younger gargoyle said. "His bigger, stronger and seriously pissed off. He will do it, and I'll help him. Believe me step out of line, your ass is mine." His eyes lit up, with in contrast to the others red. "Get it?"

"You will not get away with this." Travers said. The large one dropped him and walked back next to the smaller. They disappeared in a flash, leaving Travers alone, doubting his safety. He reached for the phone, only to be stopped by another glow. "Coming back to…" He stopped when a different shape stepped out of the light.

"Know me, mortal." The man said. "Hear my commands, and remember them."

So, Cordy's a bad guy, Faith's a good guy, and Travers is getting threats and warnings from every angle. But who was that last guy? Hmm.

Next: Buffy and Faith talk about how much life sucks, and someone becomes a target. Who?

Stay Tuned.

Doc.


	5. graduation Day

Greetings and salutations. Here's the next bit of this story. I would like to thank everyone for there reviews, I do appreciate it and try to answer everyone I receive. If I haven't yet, I apologize.

This one is Graduation Day.

Buffy paced around the Library. "What's taking so long?" She muttered.

"They only just left, Buffy." Giles said. "I'm sure they'll be fine." She grinned at him weakly, then resumed pacing.

"What's taking so long?" She muttered again. Faith sighed, then grabbed her by the arm.

"You. Me. Patrol. Now." She said, dragging her out of the Library.

"But…but…" Buffy said, as she was dragged out.

"About time." Wes muttered, as he filled out a final order form for the explosives they would need. "That was getting annoying."

Buffy dodged under the vampires strike, delivering a vicious kick to the creature's gut. She brought the stake in her hand up as the vamp doubled over, piercing its chest. She watched satisfied as it exploded into dust.

"Geez, B. Frustrated much?" Faith said.

"What?" Buffy asked. Faith walked over to her.

"Chill out girl. Grape ape'll be fine." The younger Slayer said. "They'll be waiting for us when we get back."

"It's not just that." Buffy said. "It's less than six months to graduation, and Thailog's still determined to try and be there, despite what we learned on our side trip. He just doesn't seem to realize how dangerous it is."

"Actually, the problem is that he knows the danger." Faith said. "The danger your in. One wrong move, you become a snack for the big bad Mayor. He just wants to protect you, B." She looked up at the sky. "I should be so lucky." Buffy looked over at her, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Xander?" She asked.

"See, you get it, why can't he?" Faith exploded. "I mean, how many hints does a girl have to drop to get a guys attention? I mean, I even made sure he was flying past one time when I was fighting a vamp on the roof of a building so he would be the one to catch me, and he still doesn't get it."

"Boys are dumb like that." Buffy said, knowingly. "Took Thailog a trip to another dimension to realise he cared for me, and Angel…" She shook her head. "I had to spell it out for him."

"Yeah." Faith said. She looked at the sky again. "Y'know, maybe I should just come out and say it. It'd make things easier." Buffy giggled. "What?"

"Just thinking." The other Slayer said. "Xander gets a bit…confused?…when girls act like they have any feelings besides disgust in regards to him." Faith laughed out loud. "It'd be worth it just to see his face." The two Slayers laughed, feeling normal, if only for a couple of seconds.

"Hey, what's so funny?" Xander asked as he and Thailog landed in front of them. The young gargoyle stumbled a bit as he landed. "Whoa, falling, falling…nope, false alarm." Buffy nudged Faith in the side.

"Go on." She muttered under her breath. Faith walked forward nervously.

"Gotta work on the landings." Xander mumbled, his back to her. Faith was shaking. What if he laughed at her?

"Um, Xander?" She said nervously. Xander turned to face her.

"Yeammph?" Xander tried not to fall backwards as Faith threw herself forward, pressing her lips against his. After about a second, Xander stopped struggling.

"About time." Thailog muttered. Buffy walked over to him.

"How'd it go?" She asked. Thailog growled.

"I think he'll need a few more visits." The purple gargoyle said. The stood there and watched as Faith and Xander made out. "This is starting to get embarrassing."

"Yeah." Buffy agreed. "Hey, you think that's why Giles is always taking his glasses off? So he doesn't have to watch?" Thailog chuckled.

"Perhaps." He said. "It would make things easier, I suppose." They stood there a little longer.

"Hey, you guys gonna take a break any time soon?" Buffy said. The two pulled away finally.

"Wow." Faith said.

"Yeah." Xander agreed. "And that said, I'm deeply sorry for ignoring you these past weeks." Faith flashed one of her smiles at him, and the poor boy went weak in the knees. Damn, he'd never realized how beautiful she really was.

"You're forgiven." Faith said. "Provided we can kiss like that more often."

"Deal." Xander said. He turned towards the others, as if noticing them for the first time. "You guys still here?" He asked, surprised.

"Yeah, well someone had to stand guard while you two examined each others tonsils." Buffy said with a grin. "Come on, Giles'll be panicking if we don't get back soon." Xander nodded, and the four waked over to a nearby building. He girls held tight as the two gargoyles scaled the wall. Xander had his tail wrapped around Faiths waist, just in case. This one, he wasn't going to lose. In any way.

Cordelia watched from the other side of the street. So, Xander had gone running back to his friends. And he'd hooked up, romantically, with Faith. She grinned slightly. Time to cause havoc in the poor Zeppo's life once again. She pulled out a mobile phone, and dialled a number. "Mister Mayor? I've got something for you."

Graduation was getting closer. Only four months. They had all the explosives and what not ready, and their classmates had been brought up to speed. Some of them had even volunteered to help with patrol, which was a big shock, especially fro the local vamps. Suddenly, their dinner was fighting back, and it didn't sit to well with any of them. Battle lines were being drawn, and final preparations were being made.

But that didn't mean life stopped.

The owner of the Bronze knew what was going on, of course. He had known from the beginning that there were vampires in Sunnydale. It was the reason he had opened the club. So that people could come in and forget all the weirdness that took place outside. Of course, sometimes it chased them inside, but that's why Buffy and her friends never seem to get chased up about their tab. Now, their entire year was in on it, not to mention a couple of gargoyles. He had confronted Buffy about it one night, revealing what he knew.

"Keep this place open as long as possible. People are going to need it. And, uh, can I suggest wards and stuff. You know, to keep the vamps and demons out." That's what she had said. No real answer, just thinly veiled warning of things to come. He had followed her advice, and had even started spending extra money in regards to entertainment. And he listened. As he did so, he worked out what was going on. He had then sealed off the upstairs area for the Slayerettes use. He permanently hired A Dingo Ate My Baby to do the music. He had done what he could to help. Then he had called his father's brother.

Halcion Renard arrived two days later.

Thailog noticed the old man first. He was in a motorised wheel chair that looked like something out of a sci-fi. His head was bald, and his skin looked like it was made of parchment. The man had rolled to the bar and embraced the owner.

"Who's that?" Buffy asked, walking up beside him.

"I think his name is…Halcion Renard. Yes, he is one of Xanatos' rivals." Thailog said. The two of them watched as Renard rolled over to them, the owner behind him.

"Buffy, this is my uncle Halcion." The owner said. "I called him down from New York to see if he could give some extra help." Buffy noticed the old man was taking great interest in her boyfriend.

"You wouldn't happen to be Thailog by any chance would you?" Thailog stared down at him. Buffy felt a chill run up her spine.

"How…" She said. Renard put up his hand.

"Goliath is a friend of mine, Miss Summers." He said. "He asked me to run that sample of yours past my scientists." Thailog raised an eyebrow.

"Interesting." The clone said. "And what did you find?"

"Well, it's not aimed at Buffy." Renard said. "Adding the sample to human or gargoyle blood samples didn't seem to have any effect. However, when we added it to samples taken from some of Sevarius' other test subjects, the blood began to break down at the genetic level." He fixed his eyes on Thailog. "I'm afraid you may have been the target." Something in the back of Buffy's screamed warning.

"What exactly happened to the samples?" She asked.

"Are you looking for anything in particular?" Renard asked. Thailog looked over at her.

"None of the mutagen used in those tests had any gargoyle DNA." He said. He knew where she was going with this. "We now know who it was aimed at, in any event." Renard looked between the two of them. He was missing something. She was obviously looking for a specific reaction, but what?

"Mr Renard." Buffy asked politely. "You wouldn't happen to have brought a 'My first Geneticists Kit' along with you, would you?"

"My dear girl." He said with a grin. So much like his Anastasia. "My Flying Fortress is a self contained lab, working environment and barracks. What ever you need is at your disposal." He bowed in his chair.

"You could take lessons from him." Buffy said to Thailog jokingly. "All right, I'll gather the gang, then we'll check out your Fortress." Xander, you may have accidentally saved the day, she thought.

"Look at this!" Willow's eyes were wide open as they walked through the corridors. They had gathered everyone but Faith, who was patrolling. "This is amazing! What kind of computers do you have? What's it capable of? Can I look at it? Please?"

"Take it easy, Wills." Xander said. "You're going to have a heart attack."

"I've gotta admit, it's impressive." Buffy said. "It's gotta cost a packet, though."

"Yes, it does." Renard said with a grin. He looked over at Thailog. "Especially when a certain gargoyle knocks it out of the sky." Buffy looked at the gargoyle.

"Not me." Thailog assured her. "Goliath. When he first woke, he thought Xanatos a friend. Xanatos convinced him to attack the first Fortress to 'retrieve' some disks." Oz whistled.

"That had to be some attack to take down something this big." He said.

"Yes." Renard admitted. "I was impressed. In here. I kept a sample of the virus in case you wanted to have a look at it."

"Well, unless Sevarius makes more, this is the only sample. We managed to destroy the rest of it." Buffy said. Renard directed them to a table.

"The blood samples pretty much disintegrated when the virus was introduced." He said.

"But that was not my blood." Thailog said, holding out his arm. Renard took a sample, then placed it in a petrii dish.

"This actually a synthesized version. Our scientists were able to create a more concentrated version after we realized that it was slow acting." Renard said, adding the virus to the sample of Thailog's blood. They watched as the sample turned to stone.

"My God." Thailog breathed. Buffy gripped him tight. "How long does the virus take to work?"

"Most of the samples we tested using the original virus are still breaking down." Renard said. "We hypothesised it should take another four months."

"Four…months?" Giles said.

"Graduation day." Wes said.

"Then that means…" Willow looked over at Thailog. "All the research…"

"Is correct." Thailog said. "The eclipse will awaken both Xander and myself in time to help you."

"We're back in the game." Xander said. Renard looked at them.

"What are you people talking about?" He asked.

"Basically?" Buffy began. "Mayor of Sunnydale wants to be a demon. The only way to stop him is to hit him with the force of a volcano after he transforms, which is on Graduation Day. It happens during an eclipse." She took a breath. "Thailog and me took a trip to an alternate reality and met with a vamp version of me who had lost Thailog because he hadn't woken during the eclipse like he thought he would." She took another breath and looked at Xander. "She hadn't mentioned a dart so it didn't even occur to us that it might have been a virus. You saved his life, Xand Man. Thanks." Xander shrugged.

"No big." He said. "The last thing I wanted was my best friend going vampy on us." Renard looked at them, one at a time, before his eyes stopped on Buffy.

"Your barely children." He whispered. "It isn't right."

"I know." Giles said. "But right now, they're the only ones that can stop this."

"Not alone." Renard said. "Everything I have is at your disposal. If your going to fight vampires and demon, you may as well be properly armed."

"What's wrong with pointy objects?" Buffy pouted. "I like Mister Pointy."

"Mister Pointy?" Renard asked. "Well, whatever. If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to call."

"I could use some new clothes." Thailog said.

"Same here." Xander said. "I've been wearing the same shredded clothes for month's. They're getting a bit gamy."

"Fare enough." Renard said. "Let's see what we have."

"Fashion parade." Buffy yelled. Xander rolled his eyes.

"Oh, goody."

Faith looked around the cemetery carefully. The vampire attack's had been heavy, each one seemed to be cutting her off from every escape route. All but this one. A trap, obviously. Not a very imaginative one either. She'd get there only to find herself out numbered and out gunned. How predictable. Except that the trap was coming to her.

"Well, look who's here?" Cordelia said as she made her way to the head of the crowd. "It's the fifth wheel. The unnecessary Slayer."

"Whatever." Faith said. "Tell me, is making out with a vampire better than Xander? Me, I vote no."

"You prefer scales to skin?" Cordelia spat.

"At least he has a heart beat." Faith shot back. "Now, are we going to do this, or are you just brushing up on your bitch technique?" Cordelia stared at her.

"Kill her." She ordered. "And make it painful." The vampires charged forward.

"Finally." Faith said, taking out her stakes. She stabbed two as they ran past her, then followed up with a round house that floored three more. As she fought on, a small grin appeared on her face. She would never admit this to anyone, but this is where she felt alive. In the midst of battle. She wondered if it was the same for Buffy. She ducked as a vampire came at her, only to run into the knee of another. She backed of, only to see the vamps rushing her. She slunk into a fighting stance. She wasn't going to get out of this one. But if she went down, she was taking that bitch with her.

Xander glided along effortlessly. The currents up this high were absolutely amazing; unlike any he had caught in his short life as a gargoyle. He descended slowly as he approached the cemetery. He just had to show Faith his classy new duds. They were made of some sort of Kevlar, but were way lighter than any body armour in existence. It was so easy to move, it was almost scary.

As he approached the ground, he noticed a large group of people running around. As he took a closer look, he noticed Cordelia standing off to one side. A cold chill ran up his spine, a chill that got colder when he saw Faith come up, briefly, only to be swallowed again by the flood of vampires. "FAITH!" He roared, his eyes lighting up like lanterns. "NO!" He dived among the demons, sending them flying. He stood over Faith's still form protectively. He growled at the vampires, swiping his claws across the face of one that came close. "Stay away form her." He snarled. He looked through the crowd, locking eyes with a very smug Cordelia.

"I warned you this would happen." She said. "I gave you the opportunity to join us and you spat it in my face, remember? I warned you that you'd just doomed every one you cared for. You should never have returned to them." Xander bent over and pick Faith up gently. He jumped up onto a tree branch.

"A suggestion." He said. His voice was low and threatening. "Find the deepest, darkest hole you can, and hide in it, because when I've made sure Faith is safe and sound, I'm coming looking for you. And believe me, you don't want me to find you." With that he launched himself into the air, holding tight to Faith's limp form. Cordelia watched him leave, feeling smug. He couldn't live up to his threat. She knew him; he'd stay at the bitch's bedside until she recovered. Now all they had to worry about is Buffy and Thailog, and that wouldn't be too hard to take care of. She smiled, thinking of the rifle she had hidden in her car. Oh yes, soon there would be no one to stop the Mayor's plans.

Buffy and the others ran into the hospital. Xander had called them to tell them what had happened and they had come as soon as possible. Thailog, despite Buffy's insistence, had come along. Since Xander had taken Faith to the hospital, he reasoned, they should be able to handle another gargoyle.

He wasn't far off.

The receptionist gave him a quick glance, then looked back at her book. "They're down at Intensive care, room 105."

"Thanks." Buffy said, leading the others down to the room. Xander was standing next to Faith's bed, his eyes never leaving her. "Xand?"

"I should never have let her patrol alone." He said. "Cordelia knew how to hurt me. This was exactly the reason I tried to distance myself. And now…"

"It's not your fault, my friend." Thailog said. "You could not have known she was planing this."

"No." Xander said. "Your right. I couldn't have known, but I can do something to stop this from happening again." He turned to the door, wings caped around him. "I've got a promise to keep."

"Xander…" Willow ran after him. "Are you alright? I know this hit you hard."

"I'm fine." Her friend said. "I'm just going to have a little chat with our old friend Cordelia Chase."

"You don't know where she is." Willow said.

"I can guess." He said. "Think. What would I normally do in this situation, before I was given the strength to do something about it?" Willow thought a moment.

"You would have stayed with Faith." Willow said slowly. "And left finding her to Buffy."

"That's right." Xander said. "Leaving her to take out Buffy and leaving Sunnydale, and the world, pretty much defenceless. She's waiting for Buffy, only I'm going to be there instead." His eyes lit up. "She will pay for this." He walked to the elevator, hitting the button for the roof. "She will pay."

Cordelia sat in her car, rifle at the ready. Buffy would be coming back pretty soon, Thailog would probably be with her. Two shots was all it would take, one each. Not even two minutes, easy. The Mayor's plans would be safe. She grinned. Easy.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud bang on the roof. She pointed the gun up, waiting for movement. She was not ready for the giant claw that ripped through, grasping the gun form her hand. A second claw tore the rest of the roof off, grabbing her by the collar and pulling her up. She found herself face to face with a very annoyed Xander. "Hello, sweetheart." He said through clenched teeth. His eyes were glowing. "Miss me?"

"Xander?" Cordelia gasped. "What…how did you find me?"

"Wasn't to hard." He said. "Military strategy. Take out the strongest fighters leave the rest helpless. You thought what you did to Faith would leave me moping at her bedside. You didn't count on the fact that I'm a gargoyle changing me more than physically. Now I have the power to follow things up, this 'zeppo's' going on the field. And, baby, you're my first assignment." He threw her through the air, landing a few feet away. Xander launched through air, grabbing her by the leg. He jumped on a tree branch, propelling himself to a nearby roof, then into the air. "What to do, what to do?" He said. "Drop you into the cops, where the Mayor will probably get you out of it, or take what happened to Faith out of your ass." Cordelia looked up at him. "What, you think I didn't know about how dirty the cops are around here? Buffy can't watch everything, and that leaves standard crime in my hands. That includes the dirty cops. I've got enough proof to connect your boss to every dirty cop and gang in Sunnydale. And I will use it, after he's toast. Make sure no one looks too much into his death, and more into his dealings."

"I'll spill the beans." She said.

"See, that's just it." Xander said with a grin. "The people of this town aren't as blind as we thought. Most of the doctors, every cop, the owner at the Bronze, who knows how many others, know about the vamps already. So, for most of them, it won't be anything new. And they already know about what Buffy and the rest of us are doing. The dirty cops'll be looking for a new boss, and you won't be able to fill the position. You've got a debt." He landed in the cemetery; in the same place Cordelia had ordered the vamps to attack Faith. "And guess what? Payback's a you."

The Mayor was reading through the last of the Books of Ascension. Everything was in place, and soon the students would have no leader. A pity, he could have used a Slayer on his side. Things probably would have gone a lot smoother if he had. Fighting fire with fire, as it were. The phone rang, breaking the silence. "Yes?"

"Mr Mayor, this is Rory at the hospital." The voice said. Wilkins had sent him to watch for any improvement in Faith's condition, and to reverse it as soon as possible. "They've just had an arrival. It was Cordelia." The Mayor felt a chill race around his body. "She was badly beaten. There are cops all over the place. Someone made a call, found her outside the Summers place. There was a rifle in there; her prints are all over it. The roof was ripped off, but there's no other clues as to who made the call."

"Very good, Rory. I'll be down soon." He hung up, visibly seething. A gargoyle, obviously. He got to his feet. His little Cordy needed him.

Sargent William Allen walked into the alley, making sure no one followed him. He was one of the few trust worthy cops in Sunnydale, and sometimes it felt like a losing battle. Between vampires and crims with high connections, he knew it would take a miracle to stop it all.

"Sargent?" Xander stepped out of the shadows, his wings caped around him. "How'd it go?"

"Everything was exactly like you said it would be." William said. "By the looks of that car, I'm not surprised."

"She hurt a good friend of mine, and was planning to hurt, possibly kill, two more." Xander informed him. "She betrayed everyone that trusted her. She deserved what she got."

"Perhaps." The Sargent said. "But maybe we should leave that for the police or the courts to…"

"You're one of the few cops I can trust." Xander said. "I wouldn't trust any judge in Sunnydale with anything. I had to handle this alone. It was personal." He handed the officer a package. "This contains as much proof I could gather on her activities, including her paying of certain authority figures. You should be able to get several convictions."

"Thanks." Allen said, taking the package and slipping it into his pocket. "I hate to admit it, but between Buffy, that purple gargoyle and now you, Sunnydale is definitely becoming a safer place." Xander began climbing up a wall.

"That's our job, sir." He said. The Sargent watched as he took to the air.

"And I thank God for that, son."

The Mayor stood over Cordelia's still form. The marks pointed to a gargoyle. Obviously, she had underestimated the boy's feelings for Faith, and he had come after her. He walked out of her room. At least he knew where to go for revenge.

He made his way to the receptionist, spinning a yarn about being a distant relative of Faith's. The receptionist directed him to her room. She was out of danger, at least at the moment. Xander would pay for what he had done to Cordelia, pay with the life of his love.

Xander glided effortlessly through the air. He was amazed at how quickly he had picked it up. He adjusted his course, heading towards the window of Faith's new room. He landed on the balcony, treading gently towards the window. He walked in, to find the Mayor bent over her, his hand held against her nose and mouth, suffocating her. Xander roared, grabbing him by the scruff of the neck, throwing him against the wall. "Get away from her!" Her growled. "Get out."

"What are you going to do, freak?" Wilkins hissed. "Kill me?"

"That was a given from the get go." Xander said. "Now, I'll get to enjoy it. Like I enjoyed putting Cordy in a coma." The Mayor snarled at him. "Now, stay away from her."

"You'll get yours boy." The Mayor said, as he turned away.

"See you on graduation day." Xander said.

"Tell me boy, what's it like, living between worlds?" Wilkins made his parting shot, leaving before Xander could say another word. Xander stood there, watching his back as he left. Living between worlds? That was true enough. He was a human trapped in a gargoyle's body and, as much as he enjoyed it, there were some that viewed gargoyles as an abomination, demons, and monsters. Any normal looking folk around him would be put in danger. He brushed a hand gently across Faith's face.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"Nothing to be sorry for." She whispered. His eyes widened. "What? If having the slime ball try to kill me wasn't going to wake me up, all the noise you made afterwards would've done the trick."

"Sorry." Xander said again.

"Like I said, nothing to be sorry for." She said again. "I should've known better." She lay back in the bed. "Did you really put Cordelia in a coma?"

"Don't worry about that." Xander said evasively. "You need your sleep."

"I've slept longer tonight than I needed to." Faith said. "Answer the question."

"Yes." He said. "I thought it would help. You know, make me feel useful. Erase my failure to protect you." She touched his arm lightly.

"You can't be there all the time." Faith said. "I can usually take care of myself. Thirty or forty vamps at the one time seems to be my limit."

"No kidding." Xander said. He looked at the clock at her bedside. "Looks like I've left heading back to late."

"Then stay here." Faith said. "We still got a couple of hours, and I want to hear all the goss about this rich guy you met."

"Okay." Xander said. "But you need some sleep." Faith rolled her eyes. "Listen. You are more important than anything else in my life, I am not losing you. Okay?" Faith gave a small grin and nodded. "Alright then." He tucked the sheets in as Faith lay back, trying not to catch his claws on the sheets, or Faith. The Mayor's last words rang in the back of his mind.

_"What's it like living between worlds?"_ Not as hard as you think, Xander thought.

Graduation was a day away. Their classmates were ready everything was set. All that was needed now was the bait, to lure the Mayor into the middle of the explosion. Buffy was insisting that it should be her.

"I'm the Slayer, it should be my responsibility." She said.

"And what am I, chopped liver?" Faith said. "Look you have your mom to look after, you have a future. I'll do it." It continued back and forth like that for half an hour before Xander stepped in.

"I'll do it." He said, forcibly. The two Slayers stopped, staring at him. "There's more of chance that he'll follow me, I put Cordelia in a coma, remember? He'll want to settle things with me. Besides, it's not like there's anyone who's gonna miss my ugly mug if something goes wrong." Faith walked up to him, staring him right in the eye.

"What about me?" She asked, angrily. "You think I won't miss you? It's not like I've got an army of boys beatin' down my door." Xander grabbed her, kissing her fiercely. Giles and Wes both removed there glasses and began cleaning them.

"See, there they go again." Buffy said, pointing at the two Watchers. "Snog off begins, and the glasses come off."

"Yeah, what's with that?" Willow asked.

"It's, uh, well…" Giles started.

"It's, um…" Wes was just as stumped. Xander and Faith failed to notice the two men's discomfort.

"You'll have a chance to move on at least." Xander said. "Me, well…if I lose you, that's it. There's only one other girl that could love a guy as ugly as me, and she's taken."

"Thanks a lot." Buffy muttered.

"What about me?" Willow said. Oz grabbed her by the arm.

"You're taken too." The werewolf said.

"I'm not letting you or Buffy do this." Xander said forcibly. "There's more chance he'll follow me."

"But we don't know if you'll be there." Faith said. "We can't be sure…"

"I'll be there." He said. "Trust me."

Demona leaned against the wall. She still didn't know how the boy had found her, but it didn't matter. If this Wilkins was a danger to gargoyles as well as humans, then he had to be stopped.

"Did you get it?" Xander's voice floated across the room. Demona dropped the package into his hands.

"I still don't understand why you are fighting alongside these humans." She said. "They will turn on you the moment you have outlived your usefulness."

"Perhaps, but they're already prepared." Xander said. "There's more of a chance of success if I work with them."

"Well don't come running to me when they betray you." Demona snarled, turning to the window. She roared as she launched into the air. Xander grinned. Getting the info of Goliath hadn't been the total loss he thought it would be. If only she knew.

Thailog looked on from the roof of the building across from the school. If Buffy knew he was this close, she would kill him, but if he went to the manor, and he awoke during the eclipse, it would take to long to get here. He wanted to be as close as possible in case things worked as he planned.

"Thailog." Xander glided in smoothly.

"You're improving." The larger gargoyle said. Xander grinned.

"Yeah, it's not so hard. But I didn't track you down to talk about my gliding." He took out the package he got from Demona, opening it carefully. "I managed to get my hands on these. Y'see, we were half right. We can wake up during an eclipse, but only with these." He took out an amulet, and handed it to Thailog. "It's already active. All we have to do is put it on. When the eclipse happens, we'll wake up as if it were night." Thailog held the amulet up, looking at it as it spun around on its chain.

"Where did you get these?" He asked as Xander pulled out a second one and hung it around his neck.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures." Xander said. Thailog looked at him as he placed the other amulet around his own neck. "Believe me, you don't want to know."

"As long as whatever price you paid was not more than you can afford." Thailog said. Xander thought of his promise, to assist Demona when she called.

"No price is to much." He said as the sun rose.

Buffy sat silently in her seat as the Mayor got up to speak. She looked over to the crowd of parents. Faith looked back at her, hidden between two mothers. She nodded slightly. Buffy returned the nod, then looed up at the sky. Here we go, she thought, as the sky darkened. She watched as the Mayor transformed into a giant snake. She nodded to her classmates. "Now." She said. Graduation robes dropped to the ground, revealing crossbows, stakes, crosses and all sort of other weapons. Faith made her way through the parents.

"You guys better get out of here." She said, pulling out two knives out of her bag. She watched as the Mayor/Snake Demon swallowed Principle Snider whole. "Now." She looked up into the sky. If your gonna show Xander, she thought, now would be a good time.

Xander exploded out of his stone shell. "It worked." He looked over to Thialog, who was shaking off the last of his stone skin. He looked over at the high school. The first thing he noticed was a giant snake eating Principle Snider. "Okay, not all bad." The second was that the snake was heading towards Faith. Xander launched towards the school, Thailog close behind him.

"You look after Faith." The large gargoyle said, noticing the Mayor heading towards her. "I'll lead the rear guard."

"Aye aye, Captain." Xander said in a fake Scottish accent. He headed down towards Faith, grabbing a vampire as it came up behind her. "Told ya I'd be here." He said as she turned to him. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I got snake to blow up." He began to head towards the Snake. Pay back time.

Thailog landed right next to a rather relieved Rupert Giles. "Thank God." He Watcher said.

"Thank Xander. "Thailog replied, gesturing towards the amulet. Giles took a closer look, then turned to the coming rush of vampire.

"Don't loose it." Giles said. Thailog nodded.

"I'm not planning on loosing it or her." He said. Giles nodded and prepared for the collision.

Buffy led her group against the vamps, smashing into them. Several vamps fell easily, surprised that their dinner had fought back with such precision, and successfully. Buffy led the charge. Her silver kitana and dagger flashing through the air, she cut her way through the vampire hoard. The creatures began to retreat, straight into the waiting arms of Giles' group, and an unexpected ally.

"Thailog?" Buffy couldn't help it she felt a small chill. Could this be how he died? Did something happen other than Sevarius' virus that turned him to stone? She fought her way to his side. "I don't know how you did it, but just try no to turn to stone, 'kay?"

"I wasn't planning to." Thailog said, ramming his fist into an oncoming vampire. His massive arms swung out, throwing several vampires backwards. One clawed out as if trying to hook Thialog's amulet. Thailog repelled the attempt. He threw the vampire towards his fellows. "I have a bad feeling about this." Buffy noticed the amount of vampires trying to get between them and agreed.

"Someone's trying to make that future come true." She said, fighting back to his side. She took off the hand of a vamp reaching for the amulet. "I presume that's why your not doing impersonations of fine art?" Thailog nodded, sending more vamps flying. "Someone had to know about this, some one who's lived this fight before." She looked up, and saw the Mayor racing towards the school building. "We just need to hold a little longer." She muttered.

"Hey, scale features." Xander yelled. The Snake looked down at him. "How are you? Or maybe a better question, how's Cordy?" The creature snorted, a snarl creeping across his face. "Still in a coma? Good, wouldn't want her taking pot shots at my friends. I might do something a little more drastic next time.." The Mayor, roared, lunging at Xander. He leapt to one side. "That it? That's all you got? Come on, I was hoping for a challenge. I can't believe I was worried. Maybe after I'm finished here, I'll go and finish Cordelia. Y'know, tie up a loose end." That did it. The Mayor roared, going after the gargoyle. Xander propelled himself into the school building, jumping off the walls as he went around corners. He briefly checked over his shoulder, making sure the Mayor was still following. Xander grinned as he ran through the doors leading into the Library. He quickly leapt out the window as the Mayor stuck his head through the door.

"Well, gosh." He heard the Mayor say before Oz detonated the explosives, blowing the school and the Mayor to hell.

"Happy Graduation." The gargoyle muttered before taking to the air.

Buffy watched as the school went up in flames. What a way to go, she thought. She looked over at Thailog. They'd done it. They'd changed history. Thailog was still alive, the Mayor was dealt with, and she was looking forward to dusting Spike's bleached blonde ass when he arrived. The only worry was that the vampire's seem to be going after the amulet around Thailog's neck, the thing that had kept him from turning to stone. What it suggested scared the crap out of her, she would freely admit to that. She leaned back against the large gargoyle's chest. "We did it." She whispered. "But you'd better get out of here before the sun comes out." He nodded hesitantly.

"Alright." He said. "I'll roost across the road for the rest of the day." He looked over at a worried Faith. "Xander will probably be there." With that, he leat onto a nearby tree branch, then launched into the air. Buffy watched him for a moment, then turned to her friends.

"Well, it's over." She said. "Both school and the Mayor." They all nodded, the entire class. Losses hadn't been to bad, although Buffy blamed herself for every student that had died.

_"Don't blame yourself."_ She heard Angel's voice in her mind. She grinned. He was still watching her, like he promised. It was the one thing about her side trip she hadn't told Giles or the others. She didn't know how they could handle it. She looked at the building across the road, and grabbed Faith by the arm.

"Come on, girlfriend." Buffy said. "Our boys are waiting."

She watched as Goliath soared overhead. Had grown well, so strong and powerful, as she'd expected. So much like Thailog…

She grinned at the thought. By now, the clone would be so many pebbles on the ground. Spike would arrive and the last obstacle that stood in her way would be removed. The cycle would begin anew but, more importantly, Goliath would be hers. I should have listened, she thought. She stepped out of the shadows to get one last glimpse of the gargoyle that would soon be hers, revealing her long, blonde hair. You really can't change the past.

Buffy sat in Giles' apartment, where the gang had met since Graduation. She looked out the window. "He's late." She muttered. Joyce walked over to her daughter. Since Graduation, she had decided that she should probably take a more active role in her daughter's 'night job'.

"He'll be fine." She tried to assure her daughter. "Thailog can take care of himself."

"You wouldn't be so calm if Giles was out there." She muttered darkly. That had been one of the major surprises, coming back from patrol to find Giles and her mother making out on the lounge. She didn't know how long it had been going on, and she really didn't want to know. Come to think of it, she really didn't need to know in the first place thankyou very much. She looked out the window again, just in time to watch Thailog land in the courtyard. Lucky everyone around here are either witches, wizards or non-violent demons, she thought as she raced outside.

Thailog grinned as Buffy threw herself into his arms. "Anyone would think you worried." He said.

"I do." She said quietly. Neither of them had voiced their suspicions; that someone or something has tried to bring about Thailog's death. They could figure it out themselves. "So, what was with the emergency meeting?" Lexington had come to Sunnydale, along with the clan's oldest member, Hudson, to speak with Thailog.

"They fear something is wrong with Goliath." He said. "He has been acting strangely, becoming…distant. Not even Elisa can get him to talk. They were hoping that we might be able to add some insight."

"Sounds Hellmouthy." Buffy said. "And therein lies the problem." The two of them walked in. This was not a good thing. "We'd better get everyone together. Something tells me we may need to go visiting."

Okay, Graduation went as planned, and Thailog's alive (yay). Now we move the story to Manhatten for the final battle and some revelations about Buffy's past.

Stay tuned.

Doc.


	6. Where Nothing Much Happens

Greetings and salutations. Hello again. Welcome back. Let's get to it.

New York, the Big Bad and the first New York Scooby.

Goliath burst from his stone skin. He had had the dream again, the same one he had been having for the past month. He looked over at his clan. If these weren't just dreams, if these were actually summons from the vampire that had marked him all those years before, he was going to need to prepare them for the time when would no longer be there. "Hey big guy." Elisa said from behind him. "You okay?" He felt her hand on his shoulder.

"I am fine." He said, turning to greet his human friend. "Is there something wrong?"

"Well, Lex and Hudson arrived at my place alright. They'll meet you later." She said. They had not returned to the clock tower at all for the past three nights.

"Did they tell you where they had been?"

"Sunnydale." Elisa said. Goliath gaped. Sunnydale? "They went to talk Thailog into coming to New York sometime soon." Thailog? Goliath wasn't sure if that was such a good idea. "Goliath, they're worried about you, we all are. You haven't been yourself for while. You've been distant, going off by yourself, not leaving any clue of where you are."

"I'm sorry, but it is something I must deal with myself." He said, preparing to launch.

"It's her, isn't it?" Elisa asked, a last ditch effort to get him to talk to her. "That vampire you told me about. That's what's wrong." He looked back at her, a look in his eyes telling her to leave it be, then he was gone.

Buffy looked out the window as the plane landed. Thailog's little stash of money had grown into a rather large nest egg, enough to easily fly herself, Giles and her mother first class, plus Thailog cargo class, without leaving a dent. She just hoped the airline people paid attention to the 'fragile, handle with care' stickers. As she got up, she watched as Thailog's box was moved out of the hold. "Careful, pal." She muttered. "You damage him, I'll damage you."

"If you want to threaten them, you'll need to shout a little louder, hon." Her mother said. Buffy sighed.

"There has to be a better way of getting him around." She said. "A private jet or something." They walked off the plane. "I mean he's got more money than most airliners." She walked over to the checking desk. "I just want to check on a package that's being delivered to my hotel? The name's Summers." The clerk typed the name into the computer.

"Your package arrived safely and is already on the way to your hotel, Ms Summers." The clerk said. "It should be there before nightfall as requested."

"Thanks." Buffy said. "Just be careful. It's very fragile."

"I'll tell the truck drivers." The clerk said.

"Thanks." Buffy turned and walked over to meet Giles and her mother. "He'll meet us there." She said as they collected their luggage.

"You really have to have more faith, Buffy." Giles said.

"I know." Buffy said, picking up her bag. "It's just…I've been having a bad feeling, like someone's out to get him. I hope he'll be okay." They walked towards the exit. As they walked, a young woman walked over to them. She had olive skin and black hair.

"Excuse me, are you Buffy Summers?" She asked. Buffy noticed a small firearm under her jacket.

"I might be." She said cautiously. "It depends who's asking."

"I'm Elisa Maza." She said, holding out her hand.

"Well in that case yeah, I'm Buffy." The Slayer said, taking Elisa's hand. "This is my mother and Rupert Giles, my Watcher."

"A pleasure to meet you Mrs Summers, Mr Giles." Elisa said politely, shaking each hand in turn."

"Please, call me Joyce." Buffy's mother said. Elisa grinned.

"Joyce then." She said. "Come on, my cars this way." They followed her out. Buffy stopped when they saw her red Ford Fairlane.

"That's your car?" She said. "I thought cops ran around in squad cars." Elisa grinned.

"No one on earth could stop me from driving my baby around." She said. "On or off the job." They loaded their bags and hopped in. "Where to?" Buffy told her the name of the hotel.

"Thailog still has some money left." She said. Elisa grimaced, remembering what had happened the first time she had met Goliath's clone. "He's not the same gargoyle you met last time." Buffy said, realising what the detective was thinking. "He's changed. He's more like a big teddy bear."

"To you, any way." Giles muttered from the back. Joyce gave him a cold stare. "Sorry." He said weakly.

"Is he always like that?" Elisa asked. Buffy shrugged.

"He's British." She said, like that explained everything. Elisa laughed.

The entire trip was like a get to know everyone session for Elisa. Buffy regaled her of the highs and lows of Vampire Slaying, while Giles put more of what he felt was a realistic side, which Joyce quickly hammered into something the detective could accept.

"You really blew up the school?" Elisa asked. Buffy grinned sheepishly.

"Well, yeah, but it was the only way to kill the giant snake demon that the Mayor had turned into." She said defensively. "Besides, I've got experience with burning things down."

"The gym." Joyce said. Elisa threw a side ways glance at the Slayer.

"It was full of vamps." She said, throwing up her hands. "What choice did I have, let them take over?"

"Obviously, we have to keep you away form matches." Elisa said with a grin. Buffy turned crimson. "Well, here's your hotel." Buffy looked out the window.

"My boy really needs to learn the meaning of the word 'tact'." She muttered as they exited the car. A valet came over to park Elisa's car.

"Scratch it and I scratch you." The detective muttered. Buffy's mom stared at her. "What?"

"Nothing." Joyce said. Buffy stared at her. "What she said was very similar to what you said earlier. Your very alike."

"Maybe they cloned Goliath's taste as well as body." Giles said with a grin. Elisa and Buffy turned bright red. "They even blush the same." He mused.

"Let's just get inside." Buffy said. They walked up to the counter. Buffy took out her ID. "Room for Summers?" She said. The receptionist typed the name into the computer.

"The Penthouse suite, yes?" The receptionist said.

"I…I'm not sure. My boyfriend booked it for us. We're meeting him later." She said. The penthouse? Geez, how much did he spend?

"Well, it's what he booked." The receptionist said. He signalled a red cap. "By the way, a package arrived for you, it's already in your room."

"Okay, thanks." Thailog was waiting. That was a plus. They followed the porters into the elevator. As she got in, her amulet started glowing. She managed to pull it off and hide it before the porters could see it. What were they doing here?

They walked out of the elevator. Buffy's jaw dropped. This place was absolutely huge. She looked around to see Thailog's box not far from the service elevator. Wait a minute, service elevator? She turned to one of the porters. "Um, exactly how big is this place?"

"It takes up the whole floor, miss." He said as the others filed out. Buffy handed him a couple of hundred dollar noted. "Will there be anything else?" He asked slipping the money into his pocket.

"Yeah, share that with the others." She said. The porter went red. Buffy was about to laugh when she heard a cracking sound. "Oh, shit."

"What was…" The porter began, then stopped in shock as Thailog exploded out of the box. "Oh…My…" Thailog turned to him. "I'm dead." He breathed.

"Relax, chill out." Buffy said. "He won't hurt you." Thailog walked over to them.

"What is your name, boy?" He said.

"J-j-j-Jeremy." He stuttered. Buffy slapped him on the back.

"Welcome to the team, Jeremy." She said. The poor boy looked at her. "Obviously, we need to keep him a secret. You know, therefore, your now one of us. If you want." The boy looked back at Thailog.

"What happens if I say no?" He asked.

"We swear you to secrecy." Thailog said. "But you'd still be the only person allowed up here. Either way, you will be well compensated for your services in that role. The other, however…"

"I understand." Jeremy said. "I'll be happy to help in any way, and I won't tell anyone."

"Good for you." Buffy said.

"I'll call the front desk and tell them Jeremy is the only person allowed up here." Giles said. "I'm sure they'll understand." The young porter smiled.

"Of course. I'd better head back down." He said. "Will you be eating in tonight?" Thailog shook his head.

"We have someone we need to see." Thailog said.

"All right." Jeremy turned to the lift.

"We'll call if we need anything." Buffy said. Jeremy grinned, dropping his formal attitude.

"Right-o." He said. "See you all later." With that he walked into the elevator.

"He seems alright." Elisa said.

"Kinda like Xander." Buffy said. Joyce nodded. Giles groaned.

"And here I thought we were going to take a holiday from him." The Watcher said.

Goliath looked out over the city. Elisa hadn't arrived yet, and he was worried. What if _she_ had found her? Goliath shook his head. He couldn't allow that. "Are ye alright, lad?" Hudson asked. Goliath nodded. Hudson grinned at him. "Elisa's fine, lad. She was meeting Thailog and his friends and then bringing them here, remember?" Goliath stared at the old gargoyle. Of course that's where she was. She had told them that in the morning, before they had entered the stone sleep. These dreams were affecting him worse than he thought. He was having troubles concentrating, and he couldn't shake the feeling that she was getting closer. Her voice haunted his dreams. He knew for sure it was her, coming for him. Not without a fight, he thought. "Are ye sure yer all right, lad?" Hudson asked.

"I'm fine, old friend." Goliath said. "Just…a bad feeling." And knowing that feeling was true wasn't helping.

"That vampire troubling ye, lad?" Goliath spun to face his old mentor. "What, ye think no one else knew? Demona knows about the bite, an' she told me, before the betrayal. I talked with the rest of the gargoyles that went with ye that night, an' I put two and two together. If she's comin' for ye, she'll have a lot more trouble than she bargained for, I c'n tell ye now." The others came out onto the balcony.

"You all know too?" Goliath asked.

"When Hudson realised what was wrong, he told the rest of us what he knew." Brooklyn said. "We're not letting you go so easily, Goliath." The lavender gargoyle nodded, with a slight grin. Bronx walked up to him, rubbing against Goliath's leg.

"You too, boy?" He said, leaning to scratch the watch beast. "Thank you. All of you. I should have known better than to try and keep it secret."

""I'll say." Elisa said, coming up the stairs. Goliath smiled.

"You knew all along." He said. It wasn't a question.

"I had suspicions." She said. "That's why I sent Lex and Hudson to call in the experts."

"You…" Goliath couldn't believe it. He had been under the impressions they had acted alone.

"Consider yourself lucky to have those sort of friend, Goliaths." A voice said behind him. He spun to face the owner, a young girl, and a familiar face. "Pray you never lose them." She walked over to his, holding out her hand. "I'm Buffy." He took it gently, and was surprised at the strength she possessed.

"At last we meet." He said. He looked past her, locking eyes with his clone. "Thailog." The clone nodded. He had been unsure of what his feelings would be when they met again. Remorse had definitely been on top of his list. "It has been some time."

"Too long." Thailog said. "This is something I have been meaning to do for a while. I'm sorry for what I did. In truth, I was tired of hearing about you from Xanatos. I wanted to prove myself better. It…" Goliath put his hand up.

"There is no need to explain." He said. "You were a victim of circumstance, nothing more. I don't blame you; you were merely dong what you know. I do wish you hadn't come now." Thailog shook his head.

"Now is when I am needed the most." He said. "We believe your foe may believe me dead. If that is the case, then I will be the last thing she expects."

"So will I." Buffy said, stepping forward. "If this is what I think, then she'll expect me to be wallowing in self pity. We've got the element of surprise gong here. Let's use it." Hudson nodded, impressed with the girls skill.

"It makes sense, lad." Hudson said. "An' if she thinks none of us know what's going on, it'll make things a might easier." Buffy nodded.

"The less she thinks we know, the better." She said. "And with no one to research, it should be easy." She muttered. Hudson raised an eyebrow.

"If'n ye don't mind lass, do ye think we could talk some other strategies?" He asked.

"You want to pick my brain on how I know so much about her?" She said. Hudson nodded. She's sharp, he thought. "No secret. If Thailog had died, it'd be me." Jaws dropped at the prospect. Goliath looked at her and for a moment, she thought he was going to attack.

"That's why your voice sounded familiar." He growled. "It's hers."

"Down boy." She said. "I said she would have been me. Emphasis on alternate realities." They continued to stare, not convinced. Buffy sighed. "Alright, we do this the hard way." She pulled the cross Angel had given her out, pressing it hard against her palm. She then held the hand out for all to see. "The legends are true. Vampires can't stand crosses. It burns them. See, no burns. And I was out in daylight. Ask her." She pointed at Elisa.

"It's true." The detective said. She put a hand on Goliath's shoulder. "Maybe we should hear her out. I'm sure there's an explanation." Buffy looked on with a smile. That was all she needed to know. Now she needed to keep Elisa alive.

"Very well." Goliath said. "I'm listening." Buffy outlined the side trip the Weird Sisters had sent her and Thailog on. Goliath nodded.

"Things are starting to make sense." He said. "But I still do not understand why they did this."

"Neither did I, but things are starting fall into place." Buffy said. "This may sound strange, but I think they're trying to protect you two, so they gave me and Thailog a warning about what was coming." She reached under her shirt and pulled out her amulet. "Phoebe, Luna, Selene, I need your help."

"As you call."

"We have arrived."

"What do you need, Slayer?" The three appeared just at the door leading to the balcony.

"Answers." She said. "We figured out this is all to protect Goliath and Elisa. Why?"

"I am sorry." Phoebe said.

"We can not give you this answer." Luna continued.

"The information must, for now, remain a secret." Selene concluded.

"Why?" Goliath demanded. "Why us? What do you want of us?"

"We cannot tell you."

"You will find out eventually."

"But for now, the reasons must remain unknown." Buffy sighed. She was getting used to these cryptic answers.

"Well, can you at least tell us where vampy me is hiding?" She said. Phoebe smiled at her.

"We knew you would figure it out." She said.

"This battle will not be as easy as last time. You will need to use everything we have taught you." Selene said.

"Were it that we had more time. As for finding her," Luna looked at Goliath. "follow her prey. He will lead you to her." With that, they disappeared.

"Do they always do that?" Lexington asked.

"Speak in riddles or finish each others sentences?" Buffy said, disgustedly. She felt a strange nudging at her legs. She looked down to see a confused Bronx sniffing at her. "Hey boy or girl or whatever." She said, leaning down to scratch his ear. "What's wrong, huh?" The beast whined. Goliath walked up next to them.

"That's odd. He seems…confused." He leant down to the beast. "What is it boy?" Bronx looked up at him, sniffed Buffy again, then walked out to the balcony, stopping at Goliath's resting place, where he began sniffing again. Buffy walked over.

"I got a bad feeling about this." she said, putting a hand down on the stone. She closed her eyes and concentrated on her Slayer sense the way the Sisters taught her. At first there was nothing, then darkness. Hate, anger…lust. That was strongest of all. She felt further, until she felt something familiar, something that rang in the core of her soul. She pulled back and opened her eyes. "This is going to sound crazy, but she's been here."

"How is that possible?" Goliath demanded. He felt a cold chill run up his body. "There is always someone protecting the clock tower, and you said yourself she can't come out at day time."

"Not in direct sunlight." Thailog said. "Is there any sewer access in this building?"

"Yeah, through the precinct house." Elisa said. "What are you saying?"

"She comes through the police house, up here and walks out on the balcony while the suns on the other side of the building, so the balconies in the shadows." Buffy said. "She walks out next to Goliath and work her hoodoo, trying to bait him into coming after her." She looked over at the gargoyle. Goliath was visibly shaken. She could come that close without anyone knowing? What was to stop her from grabbing him while he was patrolling, or Elisa. If she really was some alternate version of Buffy, she knew exactly where to find her. "Some Master vampires can mesmerise their victims. If she travelled for a few hundred years, got her power up, then marked you, it's possible she'd have that power. She might even have stayed in that time, used the thousand plus years to build more power. Added to her Slayer strength, she'll be tough to beat."

"Then, she cannot be stopped?" Goliath said. Perhaps it would be easier to give in to her. It would save everyone…

He suddenly recoiled as Buffy's hand exploded across his cheek. He looked at her, part angry, part surprised.

"Stop that right now." She demanded. The rest of the clan looked ready to pounce, and so did Elisa. "I've been through that sort of thinking, I know the signs. Let me tell you right now, I'm not giving up, and neither should you. I said she was hard to beat, not impossible. I know how she thinks; I can guess most of her moves. Right now she's pretty proud of herself, thinks there's no one to stop her. Thailog's dust, I'm either drowning in self pity or I'm on the road to becoming her. Nothing in her way, she's probably just about ready to make her move. Well when she arrives today, she's going to run into a bit of a surprise." She looked around. Everyone was still on edge. She was trying to think of what to say to cool them off when Goliath chuckled.

"Stand down." He said. He looked down at her. There was a lot of power in that small frame. "You were right. I was ready to give up. I thought that it would be easier for everyone concerned if I just let her have me. But you…" He grinned. "You knocked some sense into me. I will not let her take over." He looked at Hudson. The old gargoyle grinned back at him.

"Welcome back, lad." He said. "It's about time. I was beginnin' to worry we'd lost ye."

"So was I." Goliath admitted. Buffy stood back with Thailog, taking the scene in.

"Kind of like the gang back home, aren't they?" She said. Thailog nodded.

"Very much so." He said. He wondered what it would have been like if he had taken Goliath's offer that first time, become a member of the clan. Life without Buffy, something he could never imagine.

Buffy stood near him. That worked better than she thought it would. She looked over at Elisa. The detective smiled at her.

"Thanks." She said. Buffy looked at her inquisitively. "If you hadn't done that, I probably would have. Though I have to admit, it got more results form you."

"Don't be so sure." Buffy muttered under her breath as Elisa walked over to Goliath. He watched them to interact and smiled. Her initial thoughts were right. There was definitely something up with those two, but they probably wouldn't act on it anytime soon. All she had to do was make sure they got the chance. "Okay, guys? Not to be a kill joy, but we have work to do." They all looked at her. Goliath nodded.

"I presume you have a plan?" He asked. Buffy grinned.

"I always have a plan." She said. "Even if it usually involves a head on assault, it's still a plan." She pulled a mobile out of her pocket and hit the speed dial.

"What are you up to?" Thailog said.

"Calling in that promise." She said as the phone was answered. "Vogel, it's Buffy Summers. I need to talk to Renard, it's urgent." Goliath raised an eyebrow. Buffy shrugged. "He made a promise. What ever I need, he'll provide. Right now, we need somewhere to stash you guys during the day that she won't think about." She grinned wickedly. "And when she gets here, she's in for a real treat."

Buffy's got a serious mean streak, doesn't she? I don't think Goliath and the guys quite expected this.

Next: The bettle draws closer as Buffy meets her opponent again for the first time. Confused? (Join the club.)

Stay tuned.

Doc.


	7. The Truth About Buffy

Greetings and salutations. This is it. The last act, the final curtain, the big finito. Buffy faces the big bad and the truth about herself and her father. What does it mean for her and Thailog? Read on, my friends, and find out.

She made her way quickly to clock tower. She didn't have much time before the sun set; someone had been in the basement and she had been forced to wait until they had left.

She moved towards the balcony, grinning madly. A little longer and he would be hers. She walked out to the balcony and stopped.

Where Goliath should have been, stood a very familiar figure.

"Well, it took you long enough." Buffy said. "I've been waiting here all day. I thought for a moment I was wrong." She looked her up and down. "No matter who they are, vamps always dress like skanks." The vamp Buffy stared at her.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded.

"What, you expected me to be all drowning in self pity 'cause I couldn't save Thailog?" The Slayer asked.

"Actually, tonight you should be waking in Spike's arms, all nice and lovey like." The vampire sneered. Buffy looked at her counter part disgustedly.

"Spike?" She said. "You were really desperate weren't you."

"No choice, no regrets." Vamp Buffy said. "You should have stayed there. It would have been easier if you'd waited for him. You're just prolonging the inevitable. For you and Goliath." She looked down at the Slayer's waist. "You already know that." Buffy looked at the same area on the vamp. She saw a set of stakes and blades exactly the same as her own.

"So it was you." She said, her eyes narrowed to slits. "Your the one that tried to kill Thailog." The counter part grinned slightly.

"Tried?" She said slyly. "More than likely succeeded, would I be right?"

"You tell me." The Slayer said. "If I'm what you were, and Thailog died at Graduation, then why aren't I with Spike right now. Besides the possibility that I've got better taste." The vamp stared at her for a moment, confused by her words. Suddenly, she got it."

"He…survived?" She couldn't believe it. "It's not possible. You can't change the future. I tried, it's impossible."

"Nothings impossible." Buffy told her counter part. "Plus, you were way obvious. A bunch of vamps? Come on, an alley way mugging would have been a little less obvious." The vamp couldn't believe it. Thailog survived?

"Well this is an unexpected obstacle." The vamp said. "Unexpected, but not unwelcome. Well you are, but Thailog…the necessity of his death always seemed a waste. Having both of them would be so much more fun." She licked her lips. "Two heads-and everything else-are so much better than one. Don't you agree?"

"The only thing I know is that you aren't having either Goliath or Thailog." The Slayer said. "But if you want a shot…Central Park, midnight." She walked past, slightly brushing the vamps shoulder. "Be there. If you want a chance." With that she walked to the stairs and out of the clock tower. The vamp watched her leave.

"I'll be there." She said.

_The Fortress2_

Halcion Renard sat in the main hall, watching over his friends. He rolled over to where Thailog stood, suspended in stone sleep. "She's got a lot of courage." He said. "More than she should need."

"I'll take that as a complement." Buffy said as she walked in.

"I take it everything went as planned?" He asked. Buffy nodded.

"She'll be in Central Park tonight." She said. "I'll deal with her then." Renard rolled up next to her.

"You can't do this alone." He said. "If she's anywhere near the strength of the other version you faced, your chances are minimal. If she has spent the last thousand plus years preparing, you don't stand a chance. You will need help." Buffy shook her head.

"I've training with the Weird Sisters the past few months, all for this." She said. "This is why I came here. To end this. I won't risk…" She walked up to Thailog. "I won't risk losing him because he got involved. Now she knows he's a alive, she wants him too. I won't let that happen. I'll handle this alone." Renard sighed.

"If you're gong to be stubborn, at least take this." He handed her a headset. "It's a com link I designed for the military. Use it if you need help. We'll be there as soon as possible." Buffy nodded, taking the headset. "So when are you meeting her anyway?"

"Midnight." She said. "I figure I can last a couple of hours if I spread it out. Keep her out til sun up, let the light do the rest."

"Provided she doesn't realise what your up to." He said. She shrugged.

"She probably already knows."

Thailog exploded from his stone skin with a roar, brushing the left overs from his shoulder. He looked around, unable to spot Buffy.

"She's making preparations." Renard said. He knew Thailog would be the first to realise that Buffy was missing. He also knew that when he told the clone her plan, he himself would come under close scrutiny. "She's organised to meet her counter part to finish this. She doesn't want any interference from anyone."

"What?" Thailog growled dangerously.

"Uh oh." Elisa muttered. His manner, his actions, it was so like Goliath, she knew what was coming.

"She's going to fight her tonight. Everything hangs in the balance." Renard said.

"And you let her go?" Thailog roared. It took him everything not to grab the man by the throat.

"I tried to talk her out of it." Renard said. "She was just too stubborn." Vogal, Renard's major domo, walked in at that moment.

"Good evening all." He said formally. Elisa could never get over how alike he was to Owen Burnett, Xanatos' assistant. "I have Ms Summers on the radio. She wants to talk to Mr Thailog." Thailog pushed past him, heading to the bridge. He grabbed the mike.

"Buffy, are you there?"

"Hey, big guy." Her voice crackled over the radio. "Have a good sleep?"

"What are you doing?" He asked, worry was evident in his voice.

"Doing what I have to do." She sent back. "She knows you survived, she's aiming for you too. I'm not letting that happen. This ends here and now." There was a short pause. "I'm not losing you." Thailog didn't know whether the apparent cracking in her voice was the radio or her own voice.

"How do you think I feel about losing you?" He said as Goliath and the others came in. "After everything we've gone through, do you think I want to risk loosing you?" Goliath looked at his clone, then at Elisa. She didn't notice, she was watching Thailog. Goliath knew the feeling. Had it been Elisa, he'd feel the same. The fact that Thailog and Buffy showed their feeling without fear impressed him. He was still cautious where humans were concerned. Those concerns were one of the things the clone did not mirror.

"I know, but I've got a better chance if I don't have to watch out for anyone." Buffy said. "Anyway, I just thought you'd want to hear the deal from me. I've got to go, I'll call you when it's over."

"Buffy? Buffy!" Thailog almost yelled into the mike, but she didn't' answer. She turned to Renard, who rolled next to him. "Where is she?"

"What do you plan to do?" Goliath asked. Thailog noticed him and the others for the first time.

"I'm going after her." He said. "I'm not loosing her because of her stubborn streak." Brooklyn, Broadway and Lexington looked at each other.

"Not afraid to show his feelings, is he?" Brooklyn said.

"Do you have something to say?" Thailog growled. Brooklyn gulped and looked up.

"No, sir." He said quickly. It was like facing Goliath.

"Good." The purple gargoyle tuned back to Renard. "Where is she?"

"Central Park." The billionaire said. "She's meeting her at midnight." He grinned. "We're already on our way." Thailog grinned. "I said I'd let her go alone. I said nothing about not going after her."

"You're every bit a sneaky as Xanatos says you are." Thailog said.

"Coming from that boy, that's a compliment." Renard said. He turned to Vogel. "Go to top speed, Mr Vogel, or we'll never make it."

"Very good sir." The man said. Thailog turned to the front of the ship. Hang on, Buffy. Hang on.

Buffy looked at her watch. About an hour to go. She looked around. An hour to kill and no vamps to do the same with. How boring. She walked into the centre of the park, and found someone she hadn't expected.

"Dad." Hank Summers turned around. "What are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same question." He said. He pulled her into a quick hug. "Good to see you, kiddo. I've missed you."

"Yeah well, if you were around a bit more you wouldn't." Buffy said sharply, then winced at her own words. "I'm sorry, that wasn't the right thing to say." Her father shook his head.

"You're right." He said. "I should have been around more often. I'm sorry." He looked up into at the sky. "So, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I-hey!" Buffy looked at him accusingly. "I asked you first." Hank chuckled.

"Should've known I couldn't put one past you." He said. "I have some business I have to take care of. I went for a walk to clear my head."

"In Central Park?" She said cautiously. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"You can talk." He said, pointing at her. "You should be inside, young lady." Buffy stared at him. He disappears of the face of the planet after the divorce and then he appears suddenly and tries to tell her what to do? Yeah right.

"I can take care of myself." She said. "Living in Sunnydale isn't all milk and honey, you know? I've had to take self-defence classes. Besides, I've got back up." She pulled the headset Renard gave her out. "My boyfriend does some work for CyberBiotics." She lied smoothly. "He's up on the Fortress2 right now. Any problems, I call, he comes running." Hank smiled impressed.

"So, you've got a boyfriend?" Hank said. "I have to meet this boy."

"Maybe, one day, when you're a real father." Buffy said off handedly. She winced again and smiled weakly at her father. "Sorry. I did it again. It's just…" She leaned against a tree. "You left me and mom in the lurch. We had no idea where you were. You suddenly appear again and try to be all fatherly and stuff?"

"Your right, I'm sorry I just…" Buffy's watch alarm went off. She gasped and looked at it. Midnight.

"Oh no." She said. "You have to get out of here, now."

"What, you don't want me to see you turn into a pumpkin?" He said jokingly.

"No, you don't understand. You have to get out of here before…"

"Before I show up?" They both turned to see the vamp Buffy walking towards them. "Hello 'daddy'. It's been a while. I never did get to feed off you." The Slayer stepped between them.

"Leave him out this." She said. "This is between us." Hank looked between the two of them.

"Oh, for the moment." The vamp said. "But I think you'll take me all of five minutes to take care of. Then I'll take care of some unfinished business." She grinned towards Hank, showing her game face. "Don't go to far. You and me have some fun stuff ahead."

"What the devil?"

"Dad, run." Buffy said, pushing him away. "Get out of here." He ran as far as the trees, ducking behind one. He wanted to see what his daughter was capable of.

Before he interfered.

Buffy ducked under a vicious right hook. Damn, this bitch was fast, faster than she expected. She hoped she could last til sun up, but it didn't look like she was going to make it. As long as dad got away, she thought. He may be an ass hole, but he was her father. As long as him and Thailog was safe…

She jumped to the side, ducking her counter part's sword as it slashed outward. "What, that's it?" She said, drawing her own weapon. "I expected something a bit more."

"So, you want to see what I can do?" The vamp said with a grin. "Thinking of running back to give this ago after I take Thailog and Goliath?"

"More like looking for a challenge." The Slayer said. "Surely you can do a little better."

"Sorry, that's not going to work this time." Counter-Buff said. "I know what you do, I know your every move before you do. Face it, you're going to lose, both this fight and Thialog." Buffy looked at her counter part, her face unreadable. She was not going to loose, the fight or Thailog. Suddenly she heard a loud noise, like an engine. A smile spread across her face. "What are you smiling at?"

"The cavalry, unexpected as it is." Buffy said as the Fortress2 flew overhead. It hovered above them, and they watched as one of the hatches opened and the gargoyles launched down with a collective roar. The vamp Buffy watched as they landed around her, each one with eyes glowing like lanterns. Thailog landed between the two combatants, while Goliath was behind the Slayer, Elisa beside him. Thailog glared at the vamp.

"Some things never change." He growled. "The world has done you wrong, so you take it out on an alternate version. You have caused enough pain."

"Well, she did do it." The vamp said. "I'm impressed. I didn't think it was possible. But it won't do her any good. The outcome's still going to be the same." She looked past them, her gaze landing on Goliath. "Hello, my sweet. Did you miss me?" She watched the gargoyle stiffened. "I think you're on the wrong side, baby." She held out her hand. "Come to me."

Goliath couldn't look away. Everyone else seemed to disappear from his sight, until only she remained. He began to take a step forward, then stopped. He felt a hand on his shoulder, small, gentle, holding him back. He looked down to see Elisa, still standing beside him.

"You don't have to do this, big guy." She said. Her eyes begged him not to go. "You can fight this. Please, you don't have to go with her." Tears began to well in her eyes. His hand automatically went to her cheek as they began to fall. "Please." The tear touched his hand, and everything came back into focus. He looked over at the vampire that had haunted his dreams for so long.

"No." He said. "I don't think so." Vamp Buff fumed.

"I should've killed you first." She said, moving towards Elisa. She launched over the other gargoyles, intent on ending the detective. Slayer Buff looked at Thailog.

"Need a boost, sweetie." She said. Thailog nodded, and stiffened his tail. Buffy ran up, jumping and landing on the tail. Thailog grimaced slightly, and then launched her into the air. She collided with the vamp, and they landed with a bump. They both rolled to their feet and began to circle each other. "Gee, the look you're giving me, anyone would think I was starting to get on your nerves." The vamp snarled.

"I'm going to tear your heart out and feed it to Thailog." She said. She reached into her pocket and through it at the Slayers feet. The resulting explosion sent Buffy flying. Counter Buff then launched herself at Thailog, pinning the clone. "Just relax, baby." She said. "We've got all kinds of fun stuff coming to us, just you, me, and Goliath."

Slayer Buff got to her knees. The first thing she saw was her vampire self on top of Thailog. "No." She breathed, leaping to her feet. She ran towards them.

_The earth growled her name._

She had to stop her.__

_The wind gave her speed._

She got there just as the vamp was about to sink her fangs in.__

_Fire leapt up her blades._

She slammed her foot into the vamps mouth.

_The water fuelled her power._

"DON'T TOUCH HIM!" She yelled. She brought her blades in front of her. She was so focused on her counter part that she didn't realise they were glowing with blue flame. The others did.

"What the hell?" The vamp said. "How are you doing this?"

"My God." Thailog breathed. "Buffy, what's happened to you?"

"Jallipanja." Goliath and Elisa both said. Buffy's dad looked on from behind his tree. He was afraid of this.

"You're not getting him." The Slayer growled. "I won't let you."

"Are you happy now?" Hank Summers said as the Weird Sisters walked forward.

"We did not know." Pheobe said.

"We did not realise she was yours." Luna continued.

"Forgive us, my Lord." Selene continued.

"She'd better be all right." He growled, turning back to the battle.

"I don't know how you did this, but it's not going to help you." Counter Buff said. The Slayer snarled at her.

"This ends here," She said, launching towards her opponent, her blades leaving a blue trail behind her. "and this ends NOW!" Her kitana cut through the vamp's chest, searing the vamp in two.

"No, it can't be." Counter Buff said as she turned to dust. "You can't change…" The Slayer stood over her remains. Then she noticed her glowing blades.

"What the hell?" She said, waving them in front of her. "What is this? What…" She looked over at the others, who still stood where they had landed. "Thailog?"

"I'm here." He moved towards her, wrapping his arms and wings around her. "It's all right."

"What's happening?" She said, dropping the blades. They watched as the flame extinguished. "I did this? But…"

"The Sisters training." Her father said, walking out from behind the tree. "It allowed you to touch the power I had hoped would remain hidden within you." He walked up to her, caressing his daughters face. "I am sorry."

"What are you talking about?" Thailog demanded.

"Thailog." Buffy said gently. She looked at her father. "What are you talking about, how did this happen?"

"Your blood gifts." He said, as a blue glow surrounded him, hiding him from sight. "My blood to be precise." When he emerged from the glow, he looked different. His skin had turned blue, his hair as white as Thailog's. He was wearing some strange costume, almost like battle dress. When he spoke, his voice boomed like thunder "The blood of Oberon, Lord of Avalon." Jaws dropped to the ground. Buffy stared at the man whom had masqueraded as her father.

"No way." She said. "This is not possible. Mom would have told me if she'd…" She looked up at Thailog. "This isn't happening. This can't be."

"It's all right." Thailog said firmly. "I will not leave you." Oberon looked between them.

"It is true." Oberon said. "When I banished the fey from Avalon to live among the mortals, I myself took a self imposed exile. I travelled the world searching for…I didn't know what. Then I first encountered the Vampire Slayer. Her plight touched me in a way I didn't think possible. So I declared myself the Slayers guardian, assisting her when I could. It became apparent to me that the Council was slowly losing its regard for the chosen girls that it was sworn to assist. Before long, I found myself working against them. It was through the Slayer before your own predecessor that I met your mother."

"My mother knew a Slayer?" Buffy said incredulously.

"Yes though she did not realise it." Oberon continued. "Ironic, that through the Slayer, I would meet woman that would challenge a lot of what I assumed was right. I did feel for her, not in the same manner as I love my Lady Titania, but enough that I decided to marry her. Eventually it became apparent that the marriage would end. Then you were born." His voice changed slightly, became full of pride. "You were my shining achievement. I was even prouder when I saw the Mark of the Order. I knew you were destined to become the Slayer for your generation, but I feared for you. I knew the Council would come for you, so I laid plans. I had the Mark removed, and delayed their arrival."

"So when they arrived, I would already have will of my own." Buffy realized that the things she once took as accidents might have been planned.

"Yes, so that they would have a harder time controlling you." Oberon said. "That worked better than I thought it would. I was pleased with how you handled yourself, but in truth, it just made certain plans easier to follow through." He stared at her apologetically. "The gypsy the cursed Angelus was one of mine. She would have merely killed him and be done with it. But I saw potential. Had I realized what would have happened, I would not have bothered."

"So, all these big things that happened in my life, meeting Angel, not being picked up the Watchers til later, that was you?" Buffy asked. Oberon nodded. Buffy was furious, but not with him. With herself. "You must think I'm an ungrateful cow. Everything I said earlier, and you did all this." Oberon chuckled.

"If anything, I'm proud of you." He said. "I did not think you would do so well. It was my thought that I would have to step in earlier. You kept yourself in control and, despite the odds; you did not tap the powers you had inherited from me once until now. I knew if you did, the Council would have jumped all over you like never before." He frowned. "That reminds me, the Slayer's trouble with Council should be minimal from now on. I paid Travers a visit after Puck did the same with Thailog."

"You…" Buffy looked at him. "What did you do?"

"I gave him some…advice."

_Then._

"Who are you?" Travers demanded. "Did you come to threaten me too?" He suddenly found himself floating before the new comer.

"I am Oberon." He said, a blue glow surrounding his hands. "I have been watching over the Slayer for some time, and I have become aware of something." He glared at the Watcher. "Your Council has become more of a danger to them than the forces they battle. That changes, now. You will do no more than your name suggest, and watch. You will give them advice, you will assist when they decide they need the help, but you will no longer attempt to control them. I have become sick and tired of your grab for power, using the Slayers as your tool. You will follow the decrees I have set before you, or I will dismantle your Council with my bare hands, and replace it with my own." He dropped Travers and turned, fading away slowly. "One more thing; move against the current Slayers, and I will end this Council immediately. So decrees the Lord of Avalon." And with that, he was gone.

_Now._

"I thought the fey could not interfere in mortal affairs." Hudson asked. Buffy jumped slightly, she had forgotten they were there.

"You think I do not have the right to…bend my own rules, old one?" Oberon said. "Besides, this was personal." His eyes had not left Buffy once. "And now, the reason I have revealed myself."

"What I did, with the swords." Buffy said. "You said I was tapping some hidden power."

"Yes, the power of the Fair Folk. My blood, that flows through your veins as well as your mother's human blood." He said. There was sadness in his eyes, a sadness that sent a chill up Buffy's spine. He transferred his gaze to the Sisters as they walked into view. "Their interference has caused this power to be awakened. To leave such a power untrained would be dangerous. If you were to fall into the hands of someone who would teach you to use it for their own uses, the results would be disastrous. You must be trained, but to do that you must come with me."

"How long?" Buffy asked.

"Ordinarily, it would be centuries before you could be trusted with your powers unobserved." A small gasp escaped her throat. Centuries? "I could leave the Sisters here to teach." This brought a collective gasp of horror from Phoebe, Selene and Luna. "But I would prefer to teach you myself. I have ways of shortening the time it would take, but it is indefinite by how long."

"Can't you just lock it up again?" Buffy begged. She didn't want to leave, there were still to many things to do. Besides, there was still the gang, her mom…

Thailog.

She looked up at him. He was having the same thoughts. Life without his Slayer was a nightmare he could not face.

"I am sorry, but it must be this way." Oberon said. He would force her if he had to, but he would prefer not to.

"It's not fair." Buffy said. "We just got some down time after that thing with the Mayor, me and mom are getting on like a house on fire, and that hasn't been for long. Me and Thailog are just starting to get closer, why did this have to happen?" Tears poured from her eyes as she glared at the Sisters. "Why did you do this to me?" The Sisters looked at her and felt something they had never felt before. Remorse. They knew what they had done was necessary, but the outcome…

"We are sorry." They said as one. "We did not mean for this to happen. Our actions were necessary, but this…" They turned to Oberon, still speaking as one. "Let us remain to train her. She should not be punished for our actions." Oberon smiled slightly.

"Now you understand why I decreed that we could never interfere with the mortal realm." He said. "With our power, there is no telling what may happen." He looked at his daughter. "I am sorry, but there is no other way." A sob tore from her throat. "I will give you some time to say your farewells." He faded away, leaving a distraught Buffy trying to figure out how she was going to say her goodbyes, to her friends, her family…

And her love.

Puck looked on. This really wasn't fair. The Three Weirdoes stick their noses in where they don't belong, and Buffy's the one that gets punished for. He started thinking of some really evil things to do to them.

_"Wouldn't your time be better spent trying to think of a way out for Buffy?"_ Angel's voice echoed in his mind.

"Now there's an idea. Any suggestions, Dead Boy?" Puck said sourly. "You saw what happened. Big Daddy Oberon's put his foot down. There's no way anyone can change his mind."

_"What's this? The trickster is giving up?"_ Puck could almost see Angel smiling. _"Come on, Puck, there has to be some loophole you can use."_

"Look, there is…" Puck stopped suddenly, then crowed doing a few loop the loops. "That's it. Angel, you're a genius." He vanished an idea slowly growing in his mind. This had to work.

Two weeks had passed. The gang had tried thought of something, anything, that could change Oberon's mind. So far they had come up with zip, and her time was nearly up. He was coming to pick her up tonight. They had gathered in the manor to say there last farewells.

"It's not fair, there has to be something we can do." Willow said. Oz came up behind her.

"We've tried, babe." He told her. "There's nothing we can do."

"I know, but we can't give up." Willow said. "There…"

"Enough Willow." Buffy said suddenly. The red head looked over at her. "I know your just trying to help, but there's nothing we can do. Just…let me enjoy my last few moments with my friends." Willow nodded.

"I'm sorry." She said, moving over to her and giving her a hug. "I just…I don't want to loose my best friend."

"Hey, don't sweat it." Buffy said. "Maybe I can talk him into letting me get a weekend of or something." She looked over at Thailog, who was standing by the window. "Now if you'll excuse me." She walked over to him. "Hey." He nodded. Here we go again, she thought. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." He said, never looking away form the window. She sighed, frustrated.

"Haven't we already gotten past this?" She asked. Thailog grunted. She grabbed him by the arm and turned him around. "I'm talking to you." She said angrily. "Don't ignore me, Thailog. Do you think I want this? If I could find a way out, I'd take it like that. But I don't have a way out, I don't have a choice, and I don't want to leave with this between us. Please, Thailog." He looked at her for a moment, then gathered her into his arms.

"I'm sorry." He said. "This isn't your fault, it's…" He looked down at her. "You were my first friend, and my only love. I do not want to lose you, yet it seems that is what is going to happen."

"That's not for sure." Buffy said. "Dad said indefinite, which means I may be back." She snuggled in closer. "Don't give up hope. I'll find a way."

"Buffy." Oberon's voice echoed across the room. "It is time to go." Buffy turned towards him and was greeted by an unexpected sight.

"Heidy ho, Slay girl." Puck said from next to her.

"What's going on?" Buffy asked. She noticed Faith and Xander smiling slightly. "What are you two smiling at?"

"Oh, nothing much." Puck said. "We just solved your problem, that's all."

"What?" Buffy looked at them. Thailog glared suspiciously at the fey, a glare that was mirrored by Giles and Joyce.

"No riddles, you." Joyce said. "Straight answers, or I've got some iron chains with your name on them." Puck winced. Oberon chuckled.

"You have not changed, Joyce." He said.

"Don't start me on you." She fumed. "I don't like the idea of you taking our daughter after ignoring her for so long." Oberon grinned.

"Actually, there's been a slight change of plan." He said. "I can almost guarantee she will be back in at least two years." Jaws dropped. "Puck made a suggestion. I will be taking her through time, giving her a chance to train as long as she needs in a much shorter time for the rest of you."

"You can do that?" Buffy asked. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"Well, we will have to make part of what you found out true." Puck said. "The gateway your counter parts used."

"You found it?" Buffy couldn't believe her luck. But still…

Oberon grinned. "I would never dream of separating such a team as you and Thailog." Buffy's face brightened instantly.

"You mean…he…" Oberon nodded, smiling. Buffy leapt into her father's arms, hugging him fiercely. To see her this happy, after the funk she had been in the past two weeks, he should have suggested this sooner. Trust Puck to think of it.

"And before you start worrying, we can handle Sunnydale." Faith said. Xander nodded in agreement.

"Thanks guys." She said, tearing herself away from Oberon's embrace. She walked over to her Giles and her mother.

"Try and keep in touch." Joyce said, hugging her daughter. Giles put an arm around her.

"Try to behave." He said.

"Always." She said. She walked over to Willow and the others.

"Kinda feels like we're, y'know, breaking up the band." Oz said. Xander grinned.

"With the musical analogy out of the road, let's get on with the goodbyes." He said jokingly. "Me and Faith want to take over if you don't mind."

"They'll miss us." Buffy said. Thailog grinned.

"I give them one week." He said. Xander and Faith acted wounded. Willow handed them a camera.

"Get us some souvenir shots." She said. Buffy took the camera.

"We'll see." She said. The six friends gathered into a large group hug.

"From the Avengers to the Fantastic Four." Xander said.

"Just try not to replace us." Buffy said.

"That would be impossible." Faith said, as they pulled apart. She hugged Buffy quickly. "Try to come back in one piece, and don't change too much."

"I'll try." Buffy said. "Oops, almost forgot." She looked over at Puck, who nodded. "Puck thought it would be better if I got a start." She scrunched her face concentrating. A glow appeared above Faith's hand shaping into a simple dagger. "Sorry, that's the best I can do at the moment." Buffy panted, leaning back on Thailog. "On the up side, it should be unbreakable." Faith ran a thumb down one edge.

"Well, it's sharp." She said. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Buffy said. She walked over to her father, Thailog close behind. "Mind the store guys." She said as they faded away.

"Count on it." Faith said.

Well, that's it. If you want more, like some of Buffy's training and the travels she goes on, as well as Fey Buff versus Glory, your gonna have to review and tell me it's what you want. I won't right more unless it's worth it.

Alternatively, I'll be putting some single chapters up, ideas that have invaded my life, as well as the next two parts of my mega crossover soon. With the single chapters, tell me what you like and I'll continue the one that gets the most reviews. With the series, you don't get a choice.

See ya.

Doc.


	8. Lessons

Greetings and Salutations. I'm sorry this took so long, but I lost the file with the next chapter and had to rewrite it. Argh! But any way, here it is. I want to thank everyone for reviewing and being patient. I hope this lives up to everyone's expectations.

A reminder, I own nothing. Except the gateway. That particular b=place is mine.

Buffy looked around. They were in a large round room with walls covered in strange symbols. They were standing on a large platform with a golden bird in the center. She looked over at her father. "This is the gateway?"

"Yes." Oberon answered. "We will stay here until you have become adept enough with your abilities that you can continue unattended. Since this room is outside of time, mere moments will have passed in the real world."

"So, what happens then?" Buffy asked. Thailog looked at the closest symbols.

"I presume these are the key?" He asked. Buffy moved over to him. The symbol looked like a circle, with a rune of some sort on the inside.

"I take it these represent other earths?" She asked. "How do we tell which is which?"

"That will be for you to discover." Oberon told her. Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Of course." She muttered. "Nothing in my life ever comes easy." She looked over at Puck. "I presume you won't be staying?"

"Alas, no." The trickster said. "But I assure you, my life will be less for your absence."

"You should really tame that tongue of yours." Buffy smiled. "It's bound to get you in trouble if your not careful." Puck made a face of mock horror. "Anyway, since your heading back, do me a favour? Keep an eye on the gang for me. I just know they're going to get in trouble without us to pull their collective fats out of the fire."

"But of course." Puck said with a bow. "Besides, I want to get to know the red head a bit better."

"Do anything to screw up Willow's relationship with Oz, and I will kill you." Buffy said dangerously.

"But of course not." Puck said with a laugh, and vanished.

"I don't trust him." She said. "Especially after that comment." Thailog moved up behind her.

"I'm sure he meant nothing by it." He told her.

"He better not have." She muttered.

"Come." Her father called her to the center of the platform. "It is time to begin."

Buffy wrinkled her brow with concentration. She had managed to raise herself off the platform about five inches, but it wasn't easy. "Good." Her father said. She was catching on quickly. She may begin her trips earlier than her thought. "Now, lower yourself gently to the ground." He watched as Buffy began to descend, then began to drop quickly. Thailog moved to her side quickly, but not fast enough to stop her from crashing into the ground.

"Ow." She complained, as Thailog helped her up.

"Are you all right?" He asked. Buffy looked up at her, her face covered in sweat.

"Exhausted." She said.

"Perhaps you should rest." He said. "Pushing yourself like this will not help."

"No, I can keep going." She said, pulling away a bit. Her legs collapsed and she fell back into his arms. "I'm fine."

"Sure you are." Thailog said. He looked over at Oberon. This was starting to worry him. Why was she pushing like this?

"Rest." Her father ordered. "You cannot keep going like this."

"I'm..."

"Rest." Her father ordered. "We can continue later." He walked over to them, brushing his hand over her forehead. "I will not sacrifice your health, for you power. You cannot go on in this condition. Rest. That's an order." She sighed.

"Alright, dad." Buffy muttered. "We rest." Thailog heaved a sigh of relief, picking her up in his arms. "I can walk."

"No, you can't." He said. "You can barely stand." Oberon waved a hand, creating a bed for her. Thailog lowered her gently. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow. "Sleep well, my love."

Buffy sat in the lotus position, a foot in the air. It felt like centuries had passed. She was glad time stood still in this room. If it didn't, she would have lost Thailog before she was ready. She lowered herself gently to the ground. It was so much easier than it had been at first. She opened her eyes. Oberon smiled at her. She had mastered so much in so little time. He was proud of her, and would admit it to anyone who asked. Thailog stood to one side. Buffy smiled at him. He had stood by her this entire time, making sure she was safe. His one worry was that old age would take him and leave her alone. After Angel, he didn't know how she would take it.

Buffy got to her feet and walked over to him. "Penny for your thoughts?" She asked.

"I was wondering why you seemed to get more beautiful every time I looked at you." He said with a smile. Buffy hugged him tightly.

"I'm glad you think that." She whispered. "Because there's something I want to do, and I want to do it before dad has a chance to stop me.

Hear my words, know my thoughts, 

         _My love, to you I pledge my heart._

_Let neither age nor mortal wound end your life,_

_I now bind your life to mine."_

A glow surrounded them both, blocking them from view momentarily. Oberon stood there, watching as the light faded.

"What did you do?" Thailog asked. Buffy smiled.

"I'm greedy." She said. "I don't want to lose you to something as trivial as old age or some morons gun taking you away from me. It took too long for me to find you in the first place." Thailog looked down at her.

"Immortality? You can do that?" Buffy snuggled closer.

_"A little more than immortality, big guy."_ Her thoughts rang in his head. "I bound us to each other, so no secrets." Thailog ran his hand through her hair.

"Never from you." He said. "Thankyou."

"Your welcome." Buffy said. She could feel him now, how happy he was. She should have asked, she knew that, but she wanted to get it done without her father saying she wasn't ready. She didn't want to risk losing him for any reason.

Thailog continued to hold her. So much for his fear of leaving her alone. He should have known she would think of something like this. He looked down at her. And I worried, he thought.

_"You should know better."_ Buffy's thoughts cut into his own. He chuckled. Indeed he should have.

"Impressive." Oberon walked over to them. He looked at his daughter. "I assumed you would eventually try this. I wish you had talked to me first, but it would seem any fears would have been for nothing. I am proud of you, my daughter." Buffy smiled. Sure, he'd been an absentee father for a while, but she understood now. Probably checking on one of the other Fey who were misbehaving or something. "Your control over your powers has grown well. I think it is time for some solo training."

"You mean it?" Buffy was surprised. She thought she was in trouble for acting without his permission. "I can go out?" Oberon nodded.

"Yes. You can even go home. Presuming," He gestured to the walls. "you can find the right symbol."

"Can't I just teleport out or something? She asked. She wanted to surprise the others.

"Yes, you could." Oberon admitted. "But you still have two years of practice. There's only been a few moments since we left."

"Oh, yeah." Buffy said, remembering what he had said when she entered the chamber. "Okay then, let the fun begin." She looked around. "Where do I start?"

"That is for you to decide." He said as he faded from view. "Be careful, Buffy."

"We will." She said. "And thanks." She looked around. "Eeny meeny miny moe, which way should the Slayer go?" Thailog chuckled.

"Perhaps this one." He said, pointing to one. Buffy looked at it.

"One's as good as the other until we figure out how we use this." She said, placing a hand on the symbol. There was a flash and they vanished in a burst of flame.

Well, I hope you liked that. Not much action sorry, but there was a reason for it. One, to show a (very) little bit of Buffy's training and two, to open the floor.

Obviously, the gateway presents billions of opportunities for crossovers, and I want to know what people want to see me try. Should I keep the trip primarily in the Buffy and Gargoyle circle? Should I visit other fandoms? Should I introduce some worlds of my own? It's up to you guys. Tell me in a review or email your ideas to gpgailer@telstra.com. I'll do the ones I know, and ask for advice on the ones I don't. It's up to you where this one goes, so cast your votes.

Stay tuned.

Doc.


	9. It Begins

Greetings and Salutations. Alright, here it is; the completed story of Buffy's trip to the Stargate universe. Revelations, shocks and exploding limbs. Sit back and enjoy.

"What's the problem?" Colonel Jack O'Neill, leader of SG-1, asked as he entered the Stargate control room.

"Take a look, Colonel." General Hammond gestured to the glass, towards the Stargate.

"The hell…?" A fiery red replaced the usually blue field of an open wormhole. "Well, this is new." The colonel stared at the gate. "Do we know where it's coming from?"

"That's just it, colonel." Major Samantha Carter, another member of SG-1, sat at one of the consoles. She knew more than just about anyone about the dialling system. After all, she helped design it. "It's not coming from anywhere. There's no point of origin."

"O-kay. So we have a gate without an origin that looks like its on fire." Jack said. He looked through the glass again. "Alright, let's go take a look." He went down to the gateroom, Hammond and Sam close behind.

"Colonel, I don't think this is such a good idea." The General said as Jack walked up to the gate.

"With all due respect sir, what's the worst that could happen?" He said. He was soon reminded one should never ask that question as, seconds later, two shapes came barrelling out of the gate and landed on top of him. The three of them rolled down the ramp, stopping at the bottom.

"Oof." The female grunted. "What a ride."

"Are you alright?" The other asked from beneath her.

"Yeah, I'm good." She said. "Gotta love that Fey healing."

"Well, I'm glad everyone's in one piece. Now, how about getting off me, huh?" Jack said from the bottom of the pile. The female looked passed her companion.

"Oops." She said, jumping to her feet. "Sorry." She helped her companion to his feet.

"No problem." O'Neill said, getting a look at them. The girl had long blonde hair tied in a ponytail. She wore a cloak and strange blue armour of some sort that looked like it belonged in the dark ages. Around her slim waist was a belt with various sized silver spikes, a Japanese katana and a small dagger. As strange as this was, it was nothing compared to her companion. He made Thor and Asgard look like human beings.

"What the hell are you?" He asked the creature. It grinned at him, its wings shaking. It was laughing at him!

"No matter what dimension, humans still have troubles believing their eyes." It said. "What do I look like?"

"Thailog, stop teasing him." The girl said. "They might not even have gargoyles of any kind here."

"Gargoyles?" Jack said, getting to his feet. "You mean those stone things they put on churches?"

"Or maybe they do." She said with a grin. "I'm Buffy. This is Thailog." She put an arm around the gargoyle. "Sorry if we startled you."

"No problem." Jack said. "Happens all the time." Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Well, something like it. What kind of names Buffy?" Buffy glared at him.

"Now hold on a minute. How the hell did you get in here?" General Hammond demanded. "What did you do to our Stargate?"

"Your what?" Buffy asked. "Star…gate? What's that?" Jack looked at the gate.

"General, it doesn't look like they did anything." He said. Hammond turned to the gate. The red field was gone; indeed there was no clue that anything strange had happened, except the two strangers.

"What the hell is going on?" The General demanded. "Who are you people?"

"I think we have already established that." Thailog said, his manner reminding Jack of the third member of his team, the Jaffa Teal'c.

"All I heard were names." Hammond said. "Now, until I get some answers, you two are not leaving." The soldiers around the room brought their guns up. Thailog growled.

"Easy, big guy." Buffy murmured. "Let me handle this." She walked up to the general. "I don't like your attitude. Now it's pretty obvious that there is something that you guys are fighting, which explains the guns. All you have to do is ask nicely, and we'd be happy to answer all your questions. Threats however, won't get you anywhere. Besides," She disappeared, reappearing in the middle of the giant ring. "what makes you think you could stop us from leaving if we wanted to?"

"She's got you there." Jack said lamely. "It's not like we can stop her from doing that…vanishing…thing." He made a confused face. "How did you do that?"

"I focus my magic, think where I want to go, and I'm there." Buffy said with a shrug. "Don't ask me to go into it. It's too technical for me."

"Magic?"

"She transmits her molecules at the speed of light." Sam said, surprised. "That's far beyond our technology."

"That's that teleportation thing Thor does, right?" Jack asked, even more confused. Buffy blinked a couple of times.

"Who?" Thailog chuckled at the identically blank looks on both Buffy and Jack's faces.

"I think we should sit down and talk." He suggested. "Obviously, we all have a story that needs to be told." Buffy smiled, disappearing again and reappearing next to Thailog. She kissed him on the cheek.

"That's my boy." She murmured.

They entered the debriefing room, where two people were waiting. One reminded Buffy of a younger Giles, his glasses sitting at the edge of his nose. He stared at Thailog with a mixture of surprise and excitement. The other merely raised an eyebrow as they entered. Embedded in his forehead was a gold coin of some sort. "That had to hurt." She muttered.

"Yeah, well, you don't get much of a reaction to pain out of Teal'c." Jack said. "Actually, he doesn't react to much of anything."

"That is not true, O'Neill." Teal'c said. "I react to the same things you do. I just have some control over my reactions."

"Teal'c. It was a joke." Jack said. Buffy giggled. Teal'c looked at her. There was something different about the girl, something that made her stranger than her large companion.

"A gargoyle." Daniel Jackson said. "An honest to God, living gargoyle. How…?"

"That's what we're here to find out." General Hammond said. "This is Buffy and Thailog."

"And I raise my question from before." Jack said. "What kind of name is Buffy?"

"The kind that keeps people form getting killed." Buffy said darkly. "My real name is Elizabeth Anne Summers, but no one calls me that and lives." 

"O-kay." Jack gulped.

"This is Doctor Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c." General Hammond said. "Of course you've met Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter."

"Not by name." Buffy said, taking a seat. General Hammond and the other members of SG-1 followed suit. Thailog stood behind Buffy. "So what do you want to know?"

"Well for starters, I'd like to know how you came through the Stargate, seemingly out of nowhere?" Hammond said.

"And again, what is a Stargate?" Buffy asked.

"That." Jack said, pointing out the window to the large circle.

"Oh." She said. "Okay, not what I was expecting. Where do I start?"

"The beginnings good." Jack said. Buffy smiled.

"You remind me of my friend Xander." She said. "Always ready with a joke. Okay, you wanna know were we came from. We're from an alternate reality." Daniel smiled.

"Told you there were alternate earths." He said.

"Yeah, but I still don't believe it." Jack said. "If you're from some sort of alternate reality, how'd you get here?"

"We found a gate of our own." Thailog said.

"Yeah, only ours is…bigger." Buffy said. "It's easier if I show you." She gathered her power, releasing it around them. SG-1 watched as the room transformed into a giant cavern. "This is pretty much it. I spent enough time in there, so it's pretty accurate."

"You mean you didn't actually take us there?" Daniel asked disappointed. Buffy grinned.

"Sorry, this is just an illusion." She said. "Since I don't really know which symbol leads where, it's dangerous. You touch one of those symbols, we could end up who knows where."

"Well it's a good thing you didn't take us in there." Jack said. "Knowing Daniel and the Major, we'd end up…somewhere because they can't keep their hands off things like this."

"If I remember correctly, Colonel O'Neill, it was you who activated the device in the Chamber of the Four Races." Teal'c said. Jack winced.

"You just had to remind me of that." He said. Suddenly, the chamber disappeared, revealing the de-briefing room. "What happened?" He looked over at Buffy, who was leaning back against her chair.

"Buffy." Thailog moved up behind her. "Are you alright?"

"I'm good." She muttered. "I'm just exhausted. I've never tried something that big before."

"I know." Thailog said. "I think you should wait before you try something like that again." Buffy shook her head.

"It isn't that." She said. "I think there's some iron around." She looked at the Stargate team. "My one weakness. I have more of a resistance against it than full blooded Fey, but I'm not immune."

"Full blooded?" Daniel said. Buffy nodded.

"Yup. My mother was human." She grinned. "My father's Lord of the Fey."

"So what does that make you, his heir?" Jack asked.

"We never really established that." Buffy said thoughtfully. "Gee, I hope not. I'm not the leadership kind of person."

"The others would disagree." Thailog said.

"Other what?" Daniel asked. "Other Fey?" Buffy sighed.

"Alright, let's start from the beginning." She said. "In our world, the things you probably think of as myths are more than likely real. Vampires, demons, ghosts, goblins and all the other things that go bump in the night. Their existence is known only by the few who fight them or the unlucky who discovered them accidentally. I'm in the first category, have been for years. For every generation one girl is chosen to fight the demons, the vampires, blah, blah, blah. The Vampire Slayer. Me."

"Vampires?" Hammond asked sceptically. Buffy looked at him.

"You're standing in a room with a living breathing gargoyle, General." She said levelly. "Are vampires really that hard to believe? Any way, short version of a long story, my friends and I have been fighting the forces of darkness on the edge of a mystical convergence called a Hellmouth. Then I recently found out I was also half Fey and that my father, Lord Oberon wanted train me. He sat me in a room where time does not exist, taught me the basics and now I have to wander around, gaining the experience and wisdom to use my powers properly while trying to find my way home. Any questions?" The other people in the room stared at them.

"Oberon?" Daniel said. "Shakespeare's Oberon?" Buffy grimaced.

"I hate that play." She said. "My father doesn't interfere in the affairs of mortals. It's against his rules. He bends them from time to time, but what that man put in that play…" She glowered. "If I run into him while we're travelling, I'm gonna cover his hands in boils." Daniel winced.

"So you fight demons on the edge of a portal to hell?" Jack asked. "How much do they pay for that?"

"The satisfaction of knowing I make a difference." Buffy said. Thailog grunted. "Well, that and my baby over here." Thailog smiled.

"This is incredible." Sam said. She had sat silently through out the meeting now she just couldn't help herself. "If I hadn't seen that image earlier, I'd never believe it." Buffy looked at General Hammond.

"He still doesn't." She said. She sighed. "Alright, General, obviously you need some convincing." She felt Thailog's worry down their link. "Relax, big guy. Nothing big. Won't even strain myself." She looked levelly at Hammond and raised her head slightly. "Take a look." Hammond leaned forward and examined her neck. He saw two jagged scars that looked like a bite.

"That could have been a wild animal." He said. "Or Mr Thailog." Buffy sighed. 

"You're a pain, you know that?" She said. "How the hell do I prove this to someone that doesn't want to believe?"

"Can't you bring one of these vampires here?" Jack asked.

"Nope." Buffy answered. "Can't be sure where we'd end up, remember?"

"Well that's convenient." Hammond said. Buffy sighed again.

"You're not going to give me a choice, are you?" She said, getting to her feet. She walked over to him. "Guess we got to do this the hard way. If you don't mind?"

"What exactly are you going to do?" Daniel asked. This girl was fascinating.

"I'm going to show him my experiences on the Hellmouth." Buffy said. "Everything I've gone through since being called. It'll be hard on both of us. That's why I asked. Plus, it's impolite to invade someone's mind without permission." She smiled.

"How am I to know you aren't going to play around with something?" Hammond asked.

"You're just going to…" Klaxon alarms went off. Hammond reached for the phone.

"This is Hammond. What's going on?" He demanded. He listened for a moment. "I'm on my way." He hung up the phone and turned to SG-1. "It's the Asgard." They got to their feet.

"What about us?" Buffy asked.

"They may as well come along, General." Jack said. "Maybe the Asgard can tell us whether their telling the truth or not."

"Alright, but keep them under guard." Hammond ordered. Buffy grinned.

_"Not that it'll do any good."_ She sent to Thailog. He grinned as they headed to the Gateroom. Guards fell in behind them.

When they got to the Gateroom, the blue field that now existed in the centre of the Stargate took Buffy aback. "Oh…my…" Buffy was speechless at the sight. She was even more shocked when a small, grey alien stepped out. "Wow."

"My God." Thailog breathed. "This is…incredible."

"Thor, buddy." Jack said moving forward, shaking the aliens hand.

"It is good to see you, Jack O'Neill." He said. He looked past him, greeting the members of SG-1 and General Hammond in turn. "And who is this?"

"Our latest problem." Jack said.

"Hey." Buffy said indignantly. Thor cocked his head at her. She was strangely dressed for a member of the Taree.

"What is the problem?"

"They claim to be from another earth." Hammond said. "But they used the Stargate, with no point of origin and a red wormhole."

"This guy never gives up." Buffy muttered.

"The story is rather unbelievable." Thailog said. Buffy looked at the now empty Stargate.

"And this isn't?" Thor walked up to them. She held out her hand. "I'm Buffy." She said. "This is…" Thor looked up, and his small mouth dropped open in shock.

"A Gatebuilder!" He breathed. SG-1, Colonel Hammond, Buffy and Thailog stared at him. "He is a Gatebuilder!" Buffy looked up at her love.

"What is he talking about?" She asked. Thailog looked at the small alien.

"I don't know."

"Okay, so what exactly is a Gatebuilder?" Buffy asked. They were back in the de-briefing room. The members of SG-1 and General Hammond were in their usual seats around the table. Buffy sat next to Daniel with Thailog behind her. Thor stood at the end of the table.

"The Gatebuilder's were the race that built the Stargate system." Daniel said. "Along with three other races, including the Asgard, they were the Alliance of the Four races. We haven't really been able to find much more than that, other than there was a great war of some kind. After that, the Gatebuilder's disappeared." They all turned to Thor.

"When it became apparent that the Enemy was too strong," Thor began. "the Gatebuilder's made a plan. Their race, like the Taree, was split into many different races. You know them as gargoyles, dragons, dwarfs, elves and other such creatures of myth and legend."

"So you're saying that there's somewhere where all these creatures actually exist?" Jack asked incredulously.

"Not one world." Thor answered. "To keep their culture and knowledge safe, the Gatebuilder's went to many different worlds, taking with them a part of their culture or technology. By doing so, they hoped to stay hidden from the Enemy."

"Who is this enemy?" Hammond asked.

"That information has been lost in time." Thor answered. He looked over at Thailog. The gargoyle shook his head.

"I am sorry." He said. "I…" He took a breath. "I am not a true gargoyle. I was cloned, in an attempt to create an army of gargoyles loyal to one unscrupulous businessman. I do not have the information you seek." Thor nodded knowingly, as if he had expected it.

"Then you are on a journey of discovery." Thor said. "To discover the truth of your race, and your destiny." Buffy stifled a groan.

"Here we go again." She muttered. "Am I becoming Destiny's bitch or something?" She got an amused look from Jack and a confused one from Thor. "One girl to save the world, blah, blah, blah. You get the drift."

"I see." Thor said. "You were a Slayer on your world." There was a collective gasp of disbelief.

"You know about the Slayers?" Buffy asked.

"Of course." Thor answered. "They were the guardians of the Four Races, Chosen protectors of our ways of life. I knew the Gatebuilder's had taken some, but I did not know they had continued in their duty."

"Yeah, well, with vampires running loose, someone had to." Buffy said, her head spinning. The Slayers had been designed as guardians of a race of beings from an alternate reality? Giles was going to flip when she told him. "So, any clue as to what happens next?"

"If you refer to the next step in your journey, then no." Thor said apologetically. "But, before you continue your journey, there is something you must retrieve. A band of great power, left on the third planet from the star known as Karek III, left by the Gatebuilder's to be retrieved by the One who would bring victory against their ancient Enemy." He looked at Thailog. "He was of the Builders, but not born of the Builders." Thailog looked at him.

"Are you sure?" He asked. He could not believe that he, a mere shadow of a true gargoyle, could be the one that Thor spoke of.

_"Stop that." _Buffy sent. _"It doesn't matter how you were born, just that you are. And you are a real gargoyle. Goliath and the others pretty much acknowledged that. Besides, it does kind of match you."_ Thailog looked down at her.

"You are right." He said.

"Right about what?" Hammond asked. Buffy rolled her eyes. Here we go again.

"Thailog and I are linked." She explained. "It not only allows us to sense each other and communicate telepathically, but it also gives Thailog access to my immortality. So you see," She said, meeting his eye. "the only thing you would have done by shooting either of us is piss us off royally."

"Interesting." Thor said.

"I'll say." Jack said.

"So you can't actually die?" Sam asked. Buffy thought for a moment.

"Well, the whole iron thing would probably still work." She said. "But I'm not sure if it would kill both of us or just leave one of us alive."

"Let's not test that theory." Thailog said.

"A symbiotic relationship similar to that of the Goa'uld." Teal'c suggested.

"The who?" Buffy asked.

"Brain snakes." Jack answered. "They invade your mind, take total control of your body. Only your still there." Buffy made a face.

"Reptilian vamps." She said. "Gross."

"That's one way of putting it." Daniel said. "Simple, but it works."

"Getting back on track." Hammond said, turning to Thor. "Is there a Stargate address for this…band?"

"The planet lies outside you galaxy." Thor said.

"And thus outside our system of Stargates." Sam said.

"Why?" Buffy asked.

"Well," Sam started. "our gate doesn't generate a powerful enough wormhole. It's simply to far for us to get to."

"Can't you just super charge it or something?" Buffy asked.

"Well, it's been done." Sam said. "But we can't get the device working again."

"Sort of a one shot thing." Jack injected. "Unless Thor can show us how to."

"There is no need." Thor said. "The Gatebuilder's have the ability to expand the range of any Stargate during dialling." They all looked at Thailog.

"Go, baby." Buffy muttered with a grin.

"But I do not know how." Thailog said. "There are no Stargates, that we have found, on our world."

"All that is needed is a dialling device, or DHD as the Taree call them." Thor informed him.

"What, he just has to use on of them to dial?" Jack asked. The image of a large version of a rotary phone dial came to mind.

"It is not necessary for him to dial." Thor said. "All he needs is to touch one and think of where he needs to go. The 'Gate will do the dialling for him."

"Well that's handy." Jack said. "Problem is, we don't have a DHD."

"No, but we can find them at any other Stargate." Sam reminded him. Buffy was torn. She wanted to go home, to see her friends, but it looked like destiny had screwed her again. Or to be more precise, Thailog.

"You do not have to come." Thailog told her. Buffy smiled up at him.

"Yeah, but I'd get lonely." She said. "Besides, I love you too much to let you traipse across the Multiverse alone. What if you run into a skank version of me?" She looked at General Hammond. "Mind if we borrow your people?"

"All things considered, I'm going to have to insist on it." Hammond told her. "If this band is as powerful as Thor says it is…"

"Please don't tell me you still don't trust us." Buffy begged. "After everything you've seen and heard? You're either incredibly cautious or incredibly thick headed."

"I was about to say we couldn't risk the Goa'uld getting their hands on it." Hammond said.

"Oh." Buffy's cheeks turned red. "Sorry."

"That's quite alright." Hammond told her. "I've been less than supportive." He turned to Jack and the rest of SG-1. "Colonel, get our guests settled in and then you and your team get some rest. You leave 0800 tomorrow morning."

"Um, not possible, General." Buffy said.

"Well, why not?"

"That's when Thailog sleeps." Buffy trued to think of how to explain it.

"My body goes into a stone hibernation during the day." Thailog stepped in. "It is how I heal and rest."

"You actually turn to stone?" Samantha asked incredulously. Thailog nodded. "This is…"

"Incredible?" Jack offered.

"Yes!"

"What time is it, anyway?" Buffy asked. "In regards to sun rise."

"It's uh…" Daniel brought the watch up. "Eight pm."

"Plenty of time to finish question time." Buffy said. "And now, it's our turn."

They moved into the room that had been put aside for Buffy and Thailog's use. The SG-1 team had gotten a few hours of sleep before getting up. They all wanted to see this. Even Thor had stuck around. "Time?" Buffy asked.

"Half a minute to sun rise." Daniel answered. Buffy nodded, giving Thailog a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Sweet dreams, big guy." She said, before stepping back. Thailog turned to face them. The, suddenly, his features became stiff as his entire body turned to stone.

"Sunrise." Daniel said lamely.

"We gathered that." Jack commented dryly. "So he does this every morning?" Buffy nodded.

"Yup, pretty much." She said.

"Unbelievable." Sam whispered. She had seen a lot since joining SG-1, but this took the cake.

"You think that's cool, wait until tonight." Buffy said. "That's when he really impresses."

"This is most remarkable." Thor said. "I knew that this branch of the Gatebuilder's hibernated during the day, but this is not what I expected."

"Yeah, well Thailog surprises people sometimes." Buffy said. "Even me." She yawned, stretching. "I'm going to hit the sack. Morning." She walked over to the bed in the corner, then turned and watched their new friends leave. She turned to Thailog's still form. "I hope our visits are this easy all the time." She said, removing her weapons and laying back in bed.

She woke at about four pm. "Look who's up." Jack said, walking past as she exited her room.

"Hi." She said, falling in step. "So, what's to eat around here?"

"Military food." Jack said, directing her to the lunchroom. Buffy made a face.

"And I was hoping for a real breakfast." She said. "Where's Broadway when you need him?"

"Broadway?"

"One of the New York Gargoyles." Buffy said. "He's a master in the kitchen. You wouldn't believe some of the things he creates on a gas cooker."

"Bring him around sometime." Jack said as she filled her tray. "Anything's better than this."

"Definitely." She said, pouring the runny egg on her plate. "Can I call for pizza or something?" Jack chuckled as they sat down. "So, you want to tell me what we may face through the Stargate?"

"I'll make a deal with you." Jack said. "I'll tell you some stories if you tell me some."

"A detailed description of life on the Hellmouth, huh?" Buffy said with a grin. "Why not? You first." They spent the next two hours swapping stories, each one stranger than the last. Jack told her about the time they had to stop a Goa'uld invasion force, by themselves. Buffy told him about the battle against the Mayor. Jack countered with their time travel incident. Buffy came back with the Halloween they had become their costumes. On and on it went. The other SG-1 members soon joined them, adding tid bits Jack conveniently 'forgot', mostly because they had to do with his none to impressive antics. Buffy made him feel better by detailing Xander's crush with the giant mantis lady. They got so into it that they almost forgot the time.

"Oh my God!" Buffy said, looking at the clock. "We're gonna be late!" They rushed to the room. Buffy sighed in relief. "Not late yet." She breathed as General Hammond entered the room. "Time?"

"Sunset." Daniel said, as Thailog's body began to crack. "Is that supposed to happen?"

"Just watch." Buffy said as flakes of stone skin fell to the floor. Thailog burst free with a roar, sending stone everywhere.

"Whoa." Jack said, watching Thailog stretch. "That's new."

"Indeed." Teal'c agreed. "I have never seen anything like that before." Buffy smiled as she walked up to him.

"Hey, big guy." Buffy said, cuddling up to him. "Sleep well?" Thailog grinned.

"Like a rock." He said. Buffy groaned.

"Looks like we got you away from Xander just in time." She said as they turned to SG-1. "Xander has a way of making any situation funny."

"Comedy relief?" Jack said.

"Yeah. Kinda like you." Jack made face.

"You've mentioned that." He said. "Wait, Xander had the crush on the big bug, right?"

"That's him." Buffy said. "He also got turned into a gargoyle for trying to be all macho."

"Do you have any normal friends?" Jack asked. Buffy thought a moment.

"There's that Jackson guy in New York." She said. "He's the bell boy at the hotel we stayed at. There's Detective Masa, my mother…that's about it at the moment." Jack shook his head.

"Life of a Slayer?"

"Something like that." She said. "Now, I believe we have work to do. Shall we?" She moved past them, and then stopped. "Um, which way to the debriefing room again?"

Buffy and Thailog stood alongside SG-1 as the Stargate spun, dialling PS-159, as they'd named it.

"Nervous?" Jack asked. Buffy looked at him.

"I've faced a giant demon snake, two vamp versions of myself, an ex-boyfriend turned evil and a host of other creepy things." She said. "Why would I be nervous about walking through what looks like water to travel to another planet?" Just then, the wormhole exploded open. It looked like someone had thrown a large rock into a pool, then retracted, leaving a calm, blue field. "And again, wow."

"Never get tired of watching that." Jack said with a grin. He always liked watching newbies reaction to the Stargate. "Alright, people let's move out. Rookies first." Buffy glared at him.

"You know I'll get you for that." She said as she walked up to the 'Gate, Thailog behind her. They watched as the last of the gargoyles tail disappeared, and then followed.

"How do you think they'll be on the other side?" Sam asked as Teal'c went through. Jack shrugged.

"I just hope she wasn't serious about getting me back." Jack said as they followed.

Buffy looked around. There didn't seem to be anyone around, yet the land around seemed…hurt. Like something had happened. She didn't know why. She hoped it was normal, but then, what in her life was normal.

"At least they chose a planet where it was night." Buffy muttered. Thailog nodded his agreement.

"So how was it?" Jack asked as he and the rest of the team came through. Buffy grinned.

"Fun." She said. She looked at him seriously. "Did anything happen here?" She asked. "Something feels…wrong. Like the planet was…injured, somehow."

"A large area of the planet was strip mined." Daniel said. "Not far from here, actually. We don't who, but…" Buffy closed her eyes.

"I can feel it." She whispered. "I don't know how, but…it's like the planets talking to me, trying to tell me something." Buffy looked over at Thailog. He was looking over at her, worried. "I'm good. Just wigging out, that's all. I didn't even know I could do that."

"Cool." Jack said. He looked over at Thailog. "Alright, grape ape, do your thing." Thailog nodded and walked over to the DHD. He looked at it. How the hell was he supposed to do this?

_"It's alright, babe."_ Buffy sent. _"You can do this. Just concentrate. If Thor was right, you should be able to do this without trying."_ Thailog nodded, took a breath, and placed a taloned hand on the central red stone. It glowed under his hand. Thailog could feel…something. A web, network, spread across solar systems, galaxies, the entire universe. It was incredible, almost intoxicating.

_"My God."_ He thought aloud. _"If only you could see this."_

_"I'm seeing it, sweetie."_ Buffy whispered. _"I'm seeing it through your eyes. Don't loose yourself. Find where we need to go." _Thailog took another breath. Buffy's presence was like a guiding light to him. She gave him the clarity he needed to find the 'Gate they needed…and open it.

"Whoa!" Jack jumped in surprise when the 'Gate opened without any dialling. "A little warning next time."

"It didn't dial." Daniel said. "Why didn't dial?"

"I do not know, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c said.

"Major, any theories?" Jack asked as Thailog took his hand of the DHD. "I'll even take it in techno babble."

"Sorry, sir." Sam said. "I'm at a loss."

"There was no need for it to dial." Thailog said. "The dialling process is merely a guide. I knew where we needed the wormhole. I simply found it, and used the Stargate to open it. I can't tell you anymore about it." He looked at the wormhole he had opened. "We must hurry." He said, heading through the 'Gate.

"Hey, wait up." Buffy said. SG-1 followed quickly. This just keeps getting weirder and weirder, Jack thought.

Thailog took a breath as he exited the 'Gate. He didn't fully understand it. All he knew was that without Buffy, he could never have gotten out of the network. He felt her come through the 'Gate. He had endangered her, he suddenly realised. She could have become lost in the network.

_"Don't sweat it, babe. I forgive ya."_ Buffy suddenly burst into a fit of child like giggles. "Oh wow."

"Buffy is something wrong?" Thailog moved over to her side as SG-1 came through the wormhole. Buffy was still giggling.

"This planet. It is sooo old. I feel like a kid again." She cuddled up close to him. "An' I need cuddles." Thailog looked down at her.

"Maybe this was a bad idea." He said. Buffy pouted at him.

"Uh-uh. No way are you sending me back." She said. "I might loose you. I don't want to loose you." Her voice took a panicky tone. "Don't send me away, I'll be good. Promise. I'll be good. Don't…"

"Buffy calm down." What the hell was this, Thailog thought.

"What's going on?" Jack asked.

"I am not sure." Thailog said. "She said that the planet feels old. Very old. That it made her feel like a child."

"Okay, this is getting weird." Jack said. "First she feels the strip mining on PS-159, now this. Maybe we should send her back."

"NO!" Buffy yelled her grip on Thailog tightened. "No, please don't. I'll be good, I promise. Don't send me away; I don't want to loose him. Please, I can't loose him."

"It's alright." Thailog said. "I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you. I promise." He looked down at her. She was indeed acting like a child, a child dependant on him. She would be useless in a fight, and she would not stand for such are thing. "Buffy, can you pull away from the feeling of the planet?"

"I'll try." She said obediently. She didn't want to be sent away, he realised, so she was acting like disciplined child. A gasp rocked her body. "Holy shit."

"Welcome back." Jack said. "Mind telling me what happened?" Buffy shrugged.

"Not sure." She said. Thailog could still hear a child like softness to her voice, but it was buried under that all too familiar Slayer cover. "It's got something to do with the planet, and how old it is, and how pure it is. Almost completely untouched, save for a building or something out there." She pointed in a direction, very sure of its location. She looked up at Thailog. "It's waiting for you, love. I can hear it."

"Daniel?" Jack said.

"Well, I'm not sure about the building." The archaeologist said. "But Buffy's regression has something to do with this ability to sense a planets history."

"I concur." Sam said. Jack groaned silently. Not techno babble, please. "I mean, think about it. If you're in the presence of someone older than you, and you know it, it makes you feel younger. Buffy, however, seems to be able to feel the very fibre of the planet. By the looks of things, she almost becomes a part of it. Being drowned out by something as old as she says this planet is, well, it made her feel young."

"Real young." Jack said. At least he could understand it for once. "Well I think we should head to this building. Teal'c, take point. I'll bring up the rear." Buffy looked at Thailog. The gargoyle nodded.

"I will scout ahead." He said. Buffy reluctantly let go. Thailog leapt atop the Stargate, then launched into the air.

"Are you alright?" Daniel asked. Buffy smiled. Definitely Giles the Next Generation.

"I'm good." She said. She looked up at Thailog. "He's talking to me, making sure I know he's still there. Planet is too."

"It is?" Daniel couldn't believe it. This girl from another dimension could probably solve every mystery about any planet by communicating with it directly! "What's it saying? Can you find out what the building is?"

"It's apologising for what happened when I first arrived." She said. "When the Gatebuilder's lived here, there was one among every clan that could speak with it. When it felt my ability, well, it got over excited and started shouting."

"The planet shouts?" Jack said from the back. "Do you do anything normal?" Buffy thought a moment.

"Nope." She said. "Sorry. As to what the building is, it's guarding something. That's all I can get."

"Well at least no one can sneak up on us." Major Carter said. Buffy nodded.

"Yeah, the planet can tell me if we have any visitors." She said, looking up at Thailog again. The group lapsed into silence.

"Um, question." Daniel said suddenly. "When's sunrise?" Buffy smiled.

"You still don't understand." She said. "The planets alive. It knows why we're here and where we're going. It's going to give us all the night-time we need."

"Cool." Jack said. "Alright people, you heard her. No littering." Sam smiled at the comment while Daniel rolled his eyes. Buffy giggled. The rest of the trip was done in silence, except for Buffy and Thailog's mental chatter, and the planet asking Buffy about herself. Eventually, they reached a cliff over looking the building.

"Well, that was worth it." Jack panted. The building was small, square and plain looking with no doors.

"Some giant drop a Lego block or something?" Buffy said. "Well, we may as well…" She suddenly screamed in pain and doubled over. Her reaction coincided with an explosion behind the building. "NO! They're hurting it!"

"Buffy!" Thailog moved to her side, holding it. "What is it?"

"They're hurting it." She whispered. "People…but not. Evil, looking for power. Dressed in armour, staff weapons, like that." She pointed at Teal'c.

"Goa'uld." The Jaffa rumbled.

"Aright people, get ready." Jack said, readying his rifle. "We got a snake infestation to clear."

"Buffy…" Thailog helped her up.

"They don't know what they're doing." She whispered. "We have to stop this! If they keep this up, they'll kill it!"

"The planet?" Daniel asked. Buffy nodded.

"That building, it's the heart of the planet." She said. A blue glow sprang up around her.

"Whoa boy." Jack muttered. "Um, Buffy?"

"Hold on." Thailog yelled as the wind whipped up around them. The glow that surrounded Buffy engulfed them all, and then they vanished.

The Goa'uld watched with satisfaction as the explosive detonated, and then swore as the smoke cleared and the building came up unscratched. "Again." He ordered. He would deliver the power within to his lords' allies.

A blue light appeared between him and the building. When it died, it left a group of humans and one of the strangest creatures he had seen. "Who are you?" He demanded.

"You cannot continue." One of the females said. She was blonde, and dressed differently from the others. The glow that had brought them was now surrounding only her. Whoever she was, she was powerful. "You don't understand what you are doing."

"I am claiming this planet in the name of my master." He said. "And I will not let any humans stop me. Jaffa, Kree!" The Jaffa soldiers moved in.

"Here we go." Jack said as his team readied their weapons. Thailog spread his wings and crouched low. His eyes glowed blood red and he let out a low growl. Buffy stood in front of them.

"Buffy, get back!" Thailog said. Buffy stood there and grinned as the energy from the Jaffa's weapons fizzled on an invisible shield.

"They can't touch me." She said. She looked at the Goa'uld. "Not even you can touch me." The Goa'uld raised his hand, revealing a strange device. "Give it your best shot."

"Down!" Jack ordered as the weapon fired, then fizzled and died on Buffy's shield. "Wow." Thailog looked up at her. Never had she been forced to consciously gather her powers in battle like this. She hoped she could handle this.

Buffy, on the other hand, knew she could handle this. The Goa'uld's power relied in his technology. He had no chance against her. "My turn." She said. She reached out to his gauntlet weapon, and began pumping energy into it.

"What's she doing?" Jack asked. His question was answered when the weapon shot sparks, then went up in a small, control explosion. "What the…"

"Overload." Buffy said, simply. "I overloaded the weapon, then held the explosion in a small field." They looked at the stump where the Goa'uld's hand had once been. "That looks like that hurt." She held a hand up and released a blue bolt of energy. The Goa'uld blocked it with the shield generator on the other hand.

"Fool." He said. "I am not…"

"Beaten so easily, blah, blah, blah." Buffy mimicked in a deep voice. "Not impressed." She released another bolt, this one passing through the field and hitting him into the chest. She floated over to him. "Listen carefully." She said. "Because I'm only saying this once. You are going to leave, now, and never return. If I see you again, I will rip you apart slowly and painfully. And I'm not talking about the host." He started to twist in pain. "Get it?"

"You will not get away with this." The shield generator went the way of his weapon, once more taking the hand with it. The Goa'uld screamed in pain.

"I will." Buffy assured. "And, against my better judgment, so are you. Leave." Two Jaffa moved to his side and helped him to his feet. As he moved away, only half of the Jaffa followed him.

"What do you think you are doing?" He demanded. One of them stepped forward.

"You were defeated." He said. "A true God would not have been defeated. We will bow to no false Gods."

"You will regret your betrayal." The false god warned.

"What are you going to do?" Buffy shot. "Bleed on them? You can't even do that."

"You have no idea who you are dealing with." The Goa'uld said, his eyes flashing bronze. Buffy glared at him, her own eyes flashed a brief blue.

"You're the one who has no idea who they're dealing with." She said, her tone dark. "Leave now, before I change I mind." She watched as the Goa'uld and his few remaining servants got back in their ship and left. "Jerk." She muttered.

"And with that done, wow." Jack said, coming up behind her. "How long can you stay again?" Buffy looked at him.

"Not long." She said. "As much as I'd like to stay and rip those snakes to pieces, Thailog has to find out more about this prophecy."

"What prophecy?" Daniel said, confused. "No one mentioned a prophecy." Buffy smiled at him.

"Thor gave him a title." She reminded him. "With title comes totally confusing and more often than not, apocalyptic prophecy. Trust me on this I have experience. Vampire Slayer, remember? Happened all the time. Now," She turned to the building. "How to get inside without blowing anything up." She made a pointed look at the Jaffa. "Make a note. Anytime someone suggests setting off explosives on a living planet, don't." She took a step, or at least tried to. Her knees buckled and she fell into Thailog's arms. "Never far away, for which I'm glad." She muttered. The Jaffa looked at her.

"How did she defeat the false one, and yet can barely stand?" One asked. Teal'c looked at him.

"Unlike the Goa'uld, Buffy's power comes from within." He said. "But she has only just begun to use her power, and is still weak compared to others of her kind."

"Thanks a lot, baldy." She muttered. Jack chuckled. She may have troubles walking, but she still had her wits about her. Thailog helped her over to the building. "No markings, no openings, maybe this isn't a building."

"So what is it, a diversion?" Jack asked. Just their luck. At least they had some additional helpers, maybe, he thought, looking at the Jaffa.

"I don't think so." Daniel said, walking over to the building. "The planet wouldn't have sent us here if it were."

"Daniel's right." Buffy said. "This is where we're supposed to be."

"So how do we get in?" Sam said, brushing a hand over the wall. She felt a slight charge run up her arm.

_"You are not the One."_ The voice echoed around her head. She took a step back.

"Major?" Jack called out. "Something wrong?"

"I don't know, sir." She said. "I just touched the building. Then I got a shock. Literally."

"A defence shield, perhaps." Teal'c suggested.

"I don't think so." Sam said, shaking her head. "I've run into enough to know what one feels like. Besides, it still feels like stone of some kind. Plus…it spoke. It said 'you are not the One'." Buffy looked at the building.

"Let's see." She muttered reaching out a hand. She felt the shock run up her arm. "Wow." She said. "That was…"

_"Welcome, Slayer."_ The voice echoed. _"Did you bring the One?"_

"Holy shit." Buffy breathed. She looked up at Thailog. "I think it's for you." She muttered. "It recognised me as a Slayer, and asked if I'd brought 'the One'." Thailog looked at the building.

"What have we got to loose?" Jack said. "Its not like you can die."

"Not the most reassuring of thoughts." Thailog muttered, reaching out to touch the wall. Again, there was a shock, then the voice.

_"Welcome, Chosen."_ The voice intoned. _"I have waited for you. Your birthright is within."_ A large black hole opened beside him. _"Bring only your Slayer. No others."_ Thailog looked down at his love.

"We must continue alone." He said. Buffy nodded, a wry grin on her face.

"Typical." She said, turning to the others. "Back soon."

"We're not going anywhere." Jack said as they entered the hole. He turned to his team and the remaining Jaffa. "Alright, campers. Looks like we're staying put. Teal'c, can we count on the Jaffa to watch our six?"

"Yes." The Jaffa who spoke earlier stepped forward. "We will await the lady's return." Jack rolled his eyes. Just what he needed. They thought Buffy was a goddess.

The two lovers moved down the dark passage way. "Some light would be nice." Buffy muttered. The passage lit up, but there wasn't a light source in sight. "Nice trick. Would it work if I asked for a chocolate shake?" She said jokingly. Thailog grinned.

"It doesn't look like it."

"Damn." They continued to walk for what seems like hours. "So, where do you think this band is?" Thailog looked down the passage. Suddenly he stoped and looked up. "What's up?" Thailog merely pointed. Buffy followed his gaze. "The hell…?" She was looking at the Stargate network, from the outside, exactly as she had when Thailog had accessed it to get here. Tunnel after tunnel, each one connected in someway to a pinprick of light, each light representing a Stargate. "Oh wow. Is that…?"

"The 'Gate system." Thailog said reverently. "From the outside." He looked ahead. "I don't think we should be walking." He said. They heard a chuckle echo down the hall.

_"Well done, my friend."_ The voice said. _"I was wondering when you would figure it out."_ The hall disappeared and they found themselves in a large room, with a pedestal in the centre. There was a band on it, made of an almost gold coloured metal, with a large red stone set in its face. Around the setting were several different sized holes, like there was something missing. It seemed transparent, like it was an image.

"Cool jewellery." Buffy said, walking up to it. She went to touch it, only to watch her hand go through. "And about as real as Cordelia." The chuckle rang around the hall.

_"That is because it is not waiting for you."_ The voice said. _"It is your Guardian it waits for."_

"Huh? Guardian?" Buffy looked around. "How about an explanation or an appearance or both?" The chuckle rang through the hall.

_"Very well." _ The voice said, then a gargoyle slowly faded into view. He was large and well built, with raven black hair and blood red skin. _"I am the Guardian of this place, and the Band. Welcome."_

"You're not real either." Buffy said.

"Very observant Slayer. I am a computer projection of the spirit left to guard this place. I have been waiting for you and your Guardian."

"Uh huh." Buffy said, clearly not understanding.

"What do you mean 'Guardian'?" Thailog asked.

_"You do not know? How has this knowledge been lost, it is the core of our connection with the Slayers."_ Buffy looked at the image, suddenly getting a very real idea of what was going on.

"I was not born a gargoyle." Thailog told the image. "I was cloned…"

"But I'm starting to think Goliath wouldn't have a clue either, sweetie." Buffy interrupted. "I think I know what's going on, and if I'm right when we get back, I'm pummelling that bloated windbag Travers into the ground." She looked back at the image. "And I'm pretty sure I know what's going on, but if you could explain? Just so we don't miss anything."__

"Whenever a Slayer was born, she was given a Guardian to protect her and assist in her duties. This one was usually older, and would give her the knowledge and physical reinforcement she needed. When our people split, I assumed they would continue this practice, as a Slayer unguided could be a dangerous thing."

"They probably planned on it." Buffy said. "But after a while of the Slayer line mixing with the home species, it probably got harder for them to track it. Then the Watchers came along." Something occurred to her. "You said 'a Slayer'. Isn't there only one?"

"After a fashion. One Slayer was chosen to guard the leader of each race; for example, there would be one Chosen Slayer to guard the head of the Gargoyle Clans, the bearer of this Band. Other than that, there were many Slayers charged with guarding the people, and our way of life."

"Those bastards." Buffy muttered. Thailog moved closer, afraid her temper would get the better of her. "Those miserable power mongers. When I get back, I'm going to go through that Library of theirs and if they don't like it I'm gonna…"

"Buffy, calm down." Thailog placed a calming hand on her shoulder.

"They used us." She hissed. "Robbed us of the support, the guidance, the truth we needed, we longed for, we deserved. I've suspected since Xander brought me back, and Kendra's calling, but…" She clenched her fist. Did Giles know about this?

_"What is this?"_ The image looked thoroughly confused. _"What is going on?"_

"In the realty we come from, there is supposed to be only the one Slayer." Thailog said.

"Some potentials, but only the Chosen One has the full powers of the Slayer." Buffy informed them. "When one dies, another is called. That's how it's always been. At least that's what the Watcher's Council tells everyone. There's never been any mention of Guardians or anything like that. My guess is the Council found a Slayer, saw they could use her to fight the vampires and whatever, and took her on. They never questioned where she came from until they discovered there were others."

"Buffy, we don't know that." Thailog said soothingly.

"I can't think of any other explanation." She said. The image gaped at them.

_"Are you telling me that on your world, Slayers grow without their Guardians?"_  Buffy nodded. _"That is unacceptable! A Slayer that does not find their Guardian dies at an early age, either of natural causes or an inability to continue. They are a part of each other."_

"So that's why they all died." Buffy mused. "I wondered why no Slayer ever made it to twenty five." Thailog wrapped his arms around her as she leaned on him, closing her eyes. "I'm just glad I found mine, even if it did take me a while." Her eyes opened and Thailog knew why. Angel had been there for her first, so did that change anything?

_"Do not fear."_ The image told them. _"Neither of you would have been able to enter if you did not belong as Slayer and Guardian. Though you are closer than any other I have seen."_ He looked at them in silence. _"But what this…Council has done, separating the Slayers and their Guardians, whether they realized it or not, is unconscionable. Why did the gargoyles not seek them out?"_

"Because they were hunted to near extinction." Thailog said. "Many humans feared them…us, because of our looks. To our knowledge, only six survived, turned to stone for a thousand years."

_"No wonder the knowledge has died."_ The image said.

"Don't worry." Buffy said. "I intend to fix that when I get back." She looked up at Thailog. "I know you already visited Travers, but I think he needs another hint." Thailog nodded. That his Buffy could have died early because he wasn't there…he was going to make sure no Slayer was endangered like that ever again. "Anything else we should know?" The image looked at her.

_"You will need to travel to different worlds to discover the truth, about your destinies and the Band. There are several pieces, including attachments and jewels you must collect. Only then will you have the power to defeat the Enemy."_

"Who is this Enemy everyone keeps talking about?" Buffy asked.

_"Evil. And dangerous. They are anti-life itself, the end of all that is. That Band is the key to the greatest of our weapons, but we did not get a chance to test it."_ The image looked at Thailog. _"You are our last hope. It is up to you to defeat our ancient foe."_

"No pressure." Buffy said. Thailog looked at the Band. What if it remained intangible? "Go on, big guy." Buffy urged him forward. Thailog reached forward, his talons hitting the solid gem of the Band. "Neat trick." Buffy muttered as Thailog took the Band. The large gem began to glow a deep red, the gold hoop opening. Thailog placed the Band on his wrist, the hoop snapping shut.

_"And now, it begins. It is up to you to find our people and assemble the Band's true power. Good luck, my friends." _With that, the image disappeared.

"That was enlightening." Buffy said as the hall faded, leaving them near the entrance. "I am so looking forward to having a little chat with Mr Travers when we get back. Someone's got to answer for what the Council has done."

"We do not know how much they knew." Thailog said as they headed up the stairs. Buffy sighed.

"I know." She said. "But you'd think they'd at least look into it once they realized how young the Slayers were dying. I mean it's pretty obvious." She looked down at the Band. "But we've got bigger things to tackle now." Thailog nodded as they reached the hole. There was a lot they had to do.

"That is a pretty amazing story." General Hammond said as they recounted the tale. "So what happens now?"

"We move on." Buffy said. "Try and find the missing pieces of the puzzle and as much more about what's going on as we can. Get home and give Travers a piece of my mind."

"Can I help?" Jack said suddenly. "This Travers guy sounds about as likable as Maybourne." Buffy smiled.

"Thanks for the offer Colonel." She said. "But this is personal. The Council has been using the Slayers as their private army for centuries; always knowing there'd be another they could use when the one they've got dies. I think its time someone started holding them accountable. Dad's been watching them and helping where he could. I think its time to take a more active roll."

"Meaning Mr Travers is in for a bad time." Hammond said with a small smile. "Well, I wish you both the best of luck. When will you be leaving?"

"As soon as possible." Buffy said.

"The sooner the better for you guys." Jack told them. "Before Maybourne finds out about you." Buffy made a face.

"I'll be back to deal with him." She said. "As soon as we get the rest of Thailog's Band."

"We'll be holding you to that." Hammond said with a grin. He definitely wanted to see that confrontation.

"Before we go." Buffy said, reaching into her clothes. "My friend Willow wanted me to take some pictures. Is that alright?"

"I don't see why not." Hammond said.

"Yeah." Jack said. "It's not like she can tell anyone."

"Unless there's a Stargate program on your world you don't know about." Daniel added.

"We can only hope." Buffy said. "'Cause if so, I want in." The group laughed, and even Teal'c indulged in a brief, silent chuckle.

"Almost feel sorry for the snakes." Jack said. "Almost." Buffy shrugged.

"Well, let's get things together." She said. "I want to get going. No offence, but by the sounds of things, you guys get attacked every other week, and I want to leave before that happens."

Later, they gathered in the Gateroom. The photo had been taken, and even General Hammond had been in it. Buffy and Thailog stood in the centre of the Stargate, where they had entered. They were about to leave when Ta'ruk, one of the Jaffa that had travelled with them from the Gargoyle home world, walked in, fully armed.

"I wish to travel with you." He said.

"You sure?" Buffy asked. "There's a big chance you may not be back for a while."

"There is nothing more to keep me here." He said. "My service to the false one has ended, my family died long ago. It is time for me to move on." Buffy nodded.

"Well, then, welcome aboard." She said. Ta'ruk walked up the ramp to stand beside them. "One thing though. Call me 'my lady' and we leave you on the first desert world we come across, 'kay? The names Buffy."

"Very well, Buffy Summers." Ta'ruk said in a perfect imitation of Teal'c. Buffy shrugged.

"Close enough." She said. She looked over at her new friends. "I guess this is see you later."

"Don't you mean 'goodbye'?" Daniel asked.

"Nah." Buffy said. "Still gotta have a chat to Maybourne. We'll be back." She gathered her powers around her, opening the door back to the gate. There was a flash of light, and they were gone.

"Godspeed, my friends." Hammond said. "Godspeed."

Ta'ruk looked around the giant room. "Amazing." He whispered.

"Yeah, it's special alright." Buffy said. She looked over at the symbol they had used. "Nope, that ain't it."

"Problem?" Thailog asked.

"I was hoping that maybe, if there were symbols that were similar gathered in the same area…"

"They would lead to similar realities?" Thailog asked. "And?"

"Nothing." Buffy said dejectedly. "The symbols are completely random."

"Do not worry, Buffy Summers." Ta'ruk said. "We will find your home. In the mean time, we will travel." Buffy smiled.

"Travel we shall." She said, placing a hand on a symbol. In a flash of flame, the trio was gone.

Whoa, this is long. I hope no one minds. All right, the next part of this will be spent in the universe of Joshua 'the evil guys' Champions of the Universe. This will be a joint venture between Joshua and myself, based around his Buffy/DBZ fanfic. Much wackiness to be had by all, so…

Stay tuned.

Doc.


	10. Home Away From Home

Greeting and Salutations  Alright, fingers crossed this workj. Trial number 10. Thanks to Joshua for putting up with me and everyone else for being patient.

We own nothing except our own warped minds.

Chapter 10: "Home Away From Home"

"Okay, where are we now?" Buffy muttered, picking herself up.

"Wherever we are, it is night at least," Ta'ruk stated.

"Thank heavens for small favours," Buffy muttered. "You alright, Thailog?"

"I'm fine," the giant Gargoyle rumbled. "As to where we are…" He was interrupted by sounds of battle near by.

"Let's check it out," Buffy said. "See if we can get some answers. I don't want to go Planet Diving unless I have to."

"Planet Diving?" Thailog asked as they hurried off.

"I had to call it something," Buffy said. "Got any better ideas?"

"Well…" Thailog started, but was stopped when they reached the battle sight, which stunned them into silence.

It was Goliath and the Clan, along with some other, costume-dressed characters, fighting what seemed to be… themselves.

"Okay, this is freaky," Buffy said after a while.

"Do you know these… people?" Ta'ruk asked carefully.

"Well, the big lavender Gargoyle that looks like Thailog is Goliath," Buffy explained. "Most of the Gargoyles there are his Clan but… looks like someone broke out their 'Little Geneticist's Kit'. As to the guys in costumes and their twin's, I have no clue." They watched as another Gargoyle jumped at Goliath. One that looked eerily familiar.

"Thailog?" Buffy breathed.

"That must be me on this world," Thailog said. And something he had very nearly become, if not for a certain blonde Slayer.

"Okay. Time for some answers," Buffy walked out of the bushes, Thailog and Ta'ruk in tow. She brought up a hand and, after a momentary blue glow, let off an explosive blast that separated the combatants.

"Who dares?" the Thailog look-alike bellowed.

"That'd be me, grape ape," Buffy said firmly. "Now I hope you don't mind a round of question and answer, 'cause I think I'm a bit out of the loop."

"Buffy?" Goliath asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Not that you aren't appreciated," Brooklyn added.

"And that answers question number one," Buffy said. "Alright guys, you can come out now." Her Thailog and Ta'ruk came out of the bushes to a collective gasp.

"Two masters?" the clone of Lexington said, totally confused.

"What is this?" Evil Thailog growled. "Who are you?"

"Was I like this?" his alternate self asked.

"Not that I saw," Buffy said. "Though you were a bit distant at first." He nodded at her.

"I asked you a question," The evil version said. "Answer me." Buffy glared at him.

"You may look like my man, but you sure as hell don't act like him." There was another round of dumb founded staring.

"I get the feeling you are not who I thought you are," Goliath said slowly.

"Gee, what tipped you off, big guy?" One of the spandex wearing characters, whom happened to be hanging upside down from a tree branch (which he stuck to), asked sarcastically.

"I'll explain in a minute," Buffy said. "Let's just see about some privacy. If you could gather your friends?" Half off the combatants gathered around her.

_"Spirits of air and spirits of sea, _

_My friends and I need privacy._

_Block all sound to the ears of our foe_

_Keep them away, no harm befall."_

The air around them shimmered until a dome appeared.

"Jalapeno," Goliath breathed in awe.

"She is impressive," Thailog said, looking out at his counterpart, who was ordering his clones forward. "How long will this last?"

"Long enough, sweetie," Buffy said, turning to Goliath.

"You recognized me?  So I take it you know my alternate on this world?" she asked, an almost anxious glitter in her eyes.

Goliath nodded, warily eyeing Thailog and then glancing at the one outside the shield.  "Uh, yes.  She and her friends came to New York just over a month ago.  It was when there were a great many riots plaguing the city.  She, and her friends, rallied all the protectors of New York, including my clan along with Spiderman and the Daredevil here and Elektra, to stop the riots and stop the criminal responsible for it all."

"Let me guess, Xanatos?" Thailog responded with something bordering on hate.

Goliath shook his head.  "Xanatos had nothing to do with the riots, and he even supported the relief efforts from the reconstruction that is still going on from that time.  A man known as the Kingpin of crime was responsible.  But Daredevil could tell you more about that than I."

"Besides," Lexington piped up, "Ever since we helped save Xanatos' son Alexander, he's done everything but left us alone, and then it was only to offer his assistance and help."

Thailog grunted in mistrust, but Buffy calmed him with a hand on his arm.

"All right, that answers the history question, now what's going on now?" Buffy asked.

Again the wary eye toward Thailog, but Goliath still answered.  "Thailog got Sevarius to work for him and made clones of the rest of my clan.  As he was... they were... deformed.  He personally programmed them to follow him and nothing more.  Thankfully, since Buffy's appearance here, we have been aided in out patrols by the other protectors of the city."

"He's really into that whole 'protector' thing," the one that could only be Spiderman wryly commented.  He reminded her, for some reason, of Xander.

"All right.  Is there any way of contacting my other here?  And how long would it take her to get here?" Buffy asked, thinking that this double of hers was more than likely like her in all but one way.  Thailog.

Goliath shrugged and turned to the others.  Spiderman was the one to answer.  "Depends.  If she lets Willow teleport her, about thirty seconds.  If not... maybe less."

Buffy, Thailog and Ta'ruk all blinked in shock.  "She does live in California, doesn't she?" Buffy asked.  Everyone present nodded.  "How could she get here in _less_ time than if she were teleported?  And you still haven't answered how to contact her."

"You'll see," Spiderman chuckled quietly.

Meanwhile, Goliath pulled out his wrist, upon which was a thick metal band on his arm.  Both Thailog and Buffy noted that inlaid in it was electronics and a touch screen.  Goliath frowned.  "The communicator isn't working.  Perhaps your shield is interfering with the signal.  It's happened before that magic has that effect on technology."

Buffy nodded and took a breath.  "Everyone ready.  Goliath, you contact my other and tell her to get here immediately if she can manage it.  Everybody else, make sure Goliath can't be interrupted.  Ta'ruk?  Uh... don't kill anybody, but don't spare the shots with that thing either." The Jaffa placed his staff weapon on the ground and drew a small weapon that looked like a curled up snake. He activated it, and it snapped up, looking more like a pistol.

"I can stun them with the first shot of this," he explained. "Or kill with the second and disintegrate with the third."

"Cool," Buffy said, and let down the shield.

_Sunnydale, California_

Buffy Summers yawned as she walked into her recently modified house.  The added wing for both Xander's and Faith's rooms as well as the added gym had taken a corner out of their back yard, but the additional indoor space made it worth the loss.  Her mother was in the kitchen, Willow was upstairs, no doubt reading another of her unbelievably thick magic tomes, and Xander was out with Cordelia, while she had left Faith with Spike to finish up tonight's patrol.

Just as she was about to take off her black vinyl looking jacket, there was a sudden and incessant beeping coming from just past the living room.  Buffy paused.  She was annoyed out the wazoo, but that particular beeping made her more than enough frightened to cancel every trace of her annoyance.

WILL! Buffy called in her mind as she raced to the source of the beeping.  She touched the hidden catch just beneath the painting, which flickered to show a face that she was glad to see, and worried about as well.

"Goliath!  What's wrong?  That's the emergency signal!" Willow appeared beside Buffy as the Gold Slayer spoke with the New York Gargoyle.

"We're being attacked by Thailog and... Sevarius' clones of my clan.  Spiderman and Daredevil are here helping, but Blade and the others can't make it.  We need some help, and there's one more thing..." Goliath said when another voice interrupted him.

"JUST TELL HER TO GET HERE NOW!!" Buffy's voice came from the other side.  Buffy and Willow shared a look as well as several thoughts.

Before Goliath could say anymore, Buffy snapped, "We'll be right there.  Sunnydale out."

"MOM! I've got to go out for a bit.  We'll be back later!" Buffy shouted at the door and then both she and the incredibly powerful Power Mage known as the Wiccan took off out of the house.

Xander!  Faith!  Meet at Point C for pickup to New York.  The clan needs help!  I'm going on ahead! Buffy called psychically.

Will do! Faith replied the same way.

Cordy's going to kill me.  At least three times after this! Buffy picked up on Xander's thoughts.

The redhead and blonde smirked at each other and spilt apart.  One going to the park, the other heading northeast.  A sonic boom sounded just as a bright golden aura surrounded her flying form, just before it disappeared in a streak of the same energy.

_Central Park, New York City, New York_

Buffy glanced over at Goliath as he signed off. "She's on her way," the Gargoyle told her. The Daughter of Oberon nodded.

"Should have told her to take her time, and that we have everything under control," Buffy said with a sideways smile. "If she is at all like me, she would have been here double time.  Now, if you'll excuse me?" She moved off to where Spiderman was fighting his six-armed clone.  Goliath chanced a glance after her before being jumped by the mutated member of the Pack, Wolf.  He ducked under the hit that was thrown at him and knocked the mutate on his butt.  He turned around to lash the werewolf creature with his tail into a tree behind him.  He shook his head.  Not even a challenge after hanging with the Slayer and her friends and other allies.

"Hey, don't you think this is a bit unfair?" Spiderman quipped as his own abnormal clone fired six webs strands at him. He quickly flipped up to a tree branch and released some web of his own. "I mean I've only got two arms. Can't we tie four of yours up?" The clone ducked under the webs easily. "See, that's the difference between you and me. You have no style." Suddenly, a strong wind blew up, sending the webbing back at the Spider-Clone, wrapping him up.

"And none of the intelligence, I'd say," Buffy said from behind the clone, delivering a vicious sidekick to finish. "Or the humor."

"If your Xander's like the one here, I'll take that as a compliment." Spidey said with an upside-down bow.

"What gave you the idea that I'm not from here?" Buffy asked. She hadn't mentioned being from another reality. 

"You asked Goliath if he knew your alternate," The Spider explained. "As in alternate self. Plus, you're dating a Thailog look-alike that doesn't act like him, so I'm guessing you guys are from a parallel earth."

"Remind me not to underestimate you, webs," Buffy said.

"Let's just hope the bad guys don't catch on to that," the young superhero said. "How'd you do that wind thing, anyway?"

"I'll explain later," Buffy said, making another mental note that her counterpart obviously hadn't gotten the training from her father. She looked around to see her Thailog pummelling a grey furry thing into the ground. "I've gotta learn not too worry," she muttered.

"So how'd you two…" That familiar tingling in the back of his head stopped Spiderman's question. "Uh oh. Get…" His warning came too late as the Thailog of that universe came at them. Spiderman threw Buffy clear, taking the full brunt of the hit. 

"Someone get the number of the clone?" he asked dizzily.

Thailog glared down at him. "I'll deal with you later," he growled, turning to Buffy. "As for you… whoever you are, you'll pay for your interference."

Buffy pulled herself to her feet. "You have no idea how annoying that line gets after the first billion times you hear it," she quipped, calmer than she felt. It didn't matter what this guy did, he was Thailog in all but attitude. She couldn't attack him. Luckily, she didn't have to.

"Get away from her!" Thailog turned to face who he thought was Goliath, only to find himself face to face with himself.

"I don't know who you are impostor, but it doesn't matter," the darker version said.

"You need to rethink your position," the Traveller said. "You don't want to hurt her." The evil Thailog grinned.

"Maybe your right," he said. "Maybe I'll mutate her into a Gargoyle, re-program her. Even a clone gets lonely. But you already know that, don't you?"

His counterpart roared in rage and charged, his eyes a pair of blood red lanterns.

_The gem on the Band began to glow._

He pulled his fist back, determined to break this pretender that would threaten his Slayer.

_The glow spread across his entire body._

His fist flew forward, impacting with the other's jaw.

_Strength, power, flowed outward, fuelled by rage._

The evil Thailog would never forget what happened next, though he would never, ever, be able to explain it.  The band, which looked like nothing more than a bit of cheap jewellery to the naked eye, began to glow the same colour as Thailog's eyes and then bright flames of pure power with no _one_ rainbow of a colour began to blaze across the attacking Thailog's body, dancing across his skin beginning at the band.  Then the truly amazing and most spectacular thing happened.

A roar that was not a single roar howled through the night air.  Whether it came from Thailog himself or the band, no one could say.  All they could say was that it was not one gargoyle roar; it was millions, all howling with the same rage at the same time with the same purpose.  The last change before Buffy's Thailog's fist collided with the evil Thailog's face was his eyes.  Most gargoyle's eyes light up whenever they become enraged or pumped full of adrenaline.  Their eyes light up like lanterns, some pure white to illuminate all around, some leaders such as Goliath have a more bluish tint to theirs, and then others like Thailog and Demona, whose eyes light up bright red.  Thailog's eyes, as the energy of the band surrounded him fully, flashed an unmistakable _gold_.

Then Thailog hit Thailog and the evil gargoyle was hit by so much force that he flew up in the air in a very high arc, immediately knocked unconscious, and moments after the flames finally disappeared from Buffy's Thailog, they all felt the tremor as the other one hit the ground somewhere on the other side of Central Park.

All the fighting stopped at that one instant, everyone, hero and evil clone, stared unbelieving at the just-as-shocked-as-them Thailog.  "Honey?" Buffy asked, tentatively placing a hand on his arm.

Immediately the larger gargoyle relaxed his posture from where he had finished his first and single blow to his doppelganger and looked back at his true love.  "Are you all right?" Buffy asked.

Before he could answer, the fighting immediately resumed, and three of the clones; Hollywood, the brown-skinned clone of Broadway, Malibu, the teal-skinned, black-haired clone of Brooklyn, and Delilah, all attacked Thailog and incidentally Buffy at the same time.

Thailog moved himself protectively in front of Buffy, despite consciously knowing that she held more than enough power to deal with these three, some male subconscious triggers just can't be denied.

Before they could even get to the apex of their leap however, a wind much stronger than the one Buffy used to redirect Spiderman's webs tore through the area and blasted the clones back to the ground, as well as several other of the fighters.

"Well, sorry I'm late, but you would not _believe_ the turbulence.  Air traffic was near murder," a too-familiar voice called out once the wind had died down.

"Woo hoo!  The Calvary has arrived!" Spiderman shouted as he flipped over and kicked the back of the Man-Spider, forcing it face down into a mud puddle.

Before Buffy and Thailog's eyes, a figure slowly hovered down from the sky.  It was feminine; her blonde hair pulled back in a simple ponytail, and wore a completely black outfit.  They also noticed the gold-hilted katana on her back, just over her right shoulder.

The figure turned to survey the battle, allowing the Travellers a look at her face.  Thailog smirked and Buffy just arched one eyebrow as they noticed that beneath a black vinyl-looking jacket, the blonde wore a skin-tight black leotard, her pants however were loose but tight enough that they wouldn't get in the way of free movement.  In fact they seemed to promote it as well as looking incredibly comfortable at the same time.

Hard hazel eyes stared into hard hazel eyes, each studying the other for but a single moment.  Then the moment was gone and the Gold Slayer turned back to the rest of the enemy.

Delilah, still set on avenging her Thailog, rushed the group again.  GS-Buffy stared at her for a moment before snorting humorously and then with a single backhand, knocked the brown-skinned gargoyle clone back into the trees, instantly unconscious.

_'Whoa'_ Buffy and Thailog thought at the same moments.

The rest of the clones, except for Man-Spider, which Spiderman, with Brooklyn and Daredevil's help, was hog-tying, all rushed the new Buffy, their eyes all glowing red.  She sighed and shook her head.  Then she bent down, and drew her fists to her sides in a horse stance.

"HeeeeeeYaaaaaaahhhhh!!" she screamed, and as she did, a wave of energy exploded away from her and knocked everybody back a good ten feet.  The clones, which had been leaping through the air, had the worst of it because they couldn't control their landings and crashed into the ground, unconscious.

"So much for her not training with dad," Buffy muttered as she felt something through her magical senses.  She began to sweat as she gulped and clung tighter to Thailog.  Whatever the hell it was she was sensing… it was _huge_!  And it was coming straight at them.

Before she could explain her reaction to Thailog, a spark of green light appeared in the night, in the centre of the battlefield, and slowly began to expand until it was six feet in total diameter and height.  Then it just exploded into tiny green sparkles, leaving behind three people, two dressed similarly, if not identically to the blonde.

_'I guess you aren't the only one who views the Slayer in the same fashion sense'_ Thailog privately remarked to his love through their connection.  She smiled up at him but said nothing back.

"Aw B!  You didn't even leave any for us?" Faith whined.

Sorry F, but I work fast.  And blame Willow for taking so long the Gold Slayer telepathically remarked back to her Slayer sister.  But if it helps, why don't you and Xander go pick up Thailog.  I think he's beginning to wake up from whatever hit him.

But Buff, he's right there… Xander began.  Buffy cut him off with a glare and the two black clad warriors quickly took off in the air and flew in the direction where they now too sensed Thailog waking up.

The Daughter of Oberon had heard Faith's voice, but not even Thailog with his night vision had been able to see the two warriors after their flashy entrance before they took off.  Spiderman, Daredevil, Lexington and Broadway began gathering all the clones and others that hadn't run off already and began tying them up.  The others, Goliath, Hudson, Brooklyn, Bronx, and another of the masked individuals, though not as flashy as the others in appearance, stepped closer to the gathering between Buffy and Thailog, and Buffy and Willow.

Both Thailog and Buffy noticed all the difference between her and this Buffy and their own Willow.  This Buffy was not petite as the Daughter of Oberon was.  If anything she was a block of compacted steel-forged muscles, but amazingly in her face and eyes she looked younger than the Fey descendant.  Like she was still sixteen years old.

Willow, despite having the same short-cropped hair that theirs did, also looked sixteen, but unbelievably more mature at the same time.  She had a grace about her that made her stand out with confidence that their Willow had never had.  They also noticed that she was wearing forest green overalls, that had almost a hundred pockets all over, the large ones at her waist, thighs, and chest coloured a lighter shade of green.

"So," the younger looking Slayer began, "you're the one that called us.  Fair enough that you explain things first.  Once intros are finished we'll be more than happy to fill you in on happenings around here.  Oh, and Mr. Guardian of the Slayer, *I* happen to enjoy dressing like this, not just because it's how I view myself as the Slayer, thank you very much!"

Thailog and Fey-Buffy stared in shock and a little bit of fear.  Had this other Buffy read Thailog's mind or managed to break into their private link.  Ta'ruk, was immediately by his travelling companions' side.

"I read his mind, not that it's exactly difficult," the local Slayer answered the un-voiced question.  "Besides, he broadcast it, so it's not exactly as if I could have missed hearing it.  You really need to work on controlling your thoughts, not to mention your shields so that not any stray telepath, or psionic such as myself, could just go poking through them at their leisure.  And I'm getting to that Wills!" the blonde snapped at the redhead beside her.

The Slayer turned back to the Travellers, noting the arrival of Ta'ruk, and continued, "All right, I'm done.  Story first, questions after, and I am _not_ being too gruff!" she turned and snapped the last back at Willow.

"Given that my… alternate is what he… is, I certainly don't blame you for treating us with mistrust," Thailog began.

Willow shrugged.  "Oh, it's not that.  Tonight Joyce is making one of Buffy's favourite meals, and she's missing having 'normal' time for this week.  Ergo, she's in a hurry."  The mentioned Slayer's blush could be seen even in the dark.  Several of the group chuckled.

"Do you mind if we get indoors first?" The Daughter of Oberon asked. "It's just that it's kind of a long story, and I want to get Thailog someplace safe before daybreak." The Gold Slayer looked over at Goliath, who shook his head adamantly. No matter how different he seemed, he would never be able to trust Thailog, no matter where he came from.

"I hope you have someplace in mind," she told her alternate sarcastically. "Because I don't know if we'll be able to find anywhere close by." The Travelling Buffy sighed and looked up at Thailog.

"As long as you don't touch anything," she said finally. "There's no telling where we'll end up." She received confused glances from all involved. "Just pick some reps and meet us over there." She pointed in the direction they had come from.

"Okay," the other Buffy said after a brief moment. "This had better be good though." Her alternate gave a slight smile.

"Believe me," she said, "it'll blow your mind." They watched as the small group walked through the bushes in the direction she had pointed.

"Where the hell did you find them?" the Gold Slayer asked Goliath. The large Gargoyle shrugged.

"They simply appeared," he said. "She is more different than she appears."

"Besides her keen fashion sense?" Buffy asked sarcastically.

"She be a powerful magic user," Hudson explained. "She placed a soundproof dome around us without nae much as breaking a sweat."

"So?" Buffy said. "Willow's done that before, and over the whole Central Park area, and your clock tower at the same time might I add."

"Aye, lass." Hudson said. "But there is somethin' about this one. Somethin'… familiar." Buffy cocked an eyebrow at the older Gargoyle.

"Guess we'll find out soon enough," she said. "You comin'?"

"Yes," Goliath said. "I wish to learn more about this…'good' Thailog.  Hudson, make sure everyone makes it back to the clock tower."

"Are ye sure ye dinnae want me tae join ye, lad?" the older Gargoyle asked. Goliath shook his head.

"No. Between the three of us, we should be more than able to handle any threats." Hudson nodded, not satisfied, but willing, as ever, to follow his leaders orders.

"Very well, lad," he said. "You be careful." Goliath nodded and the tree of them walked off in the direction of the other Buffy.

"And Hudson," Willow called before the old gargoyle disappeared completely.  He turned and regarded her.  "Make sure you're all wearing your amulets!"  Grimacing, the gargoyle gave an affirmative.

"So it's just you three then?" the Daughter of Oberon asked.

"Yeah, but I don't see how over here's any better than over there," the 'local' Buffy muttered."

Just gather around me." Fey-Buff said. "You'll see." The other three followed her request. Goliath eyed Thailog warily. His love grinned knowingly and called her power. A blue glow surrounded them, replaced almost instantly by an almost flaming red. Then, Central Park disappeared, replaced by a large, round room, whose walls were surrounded with strange symbols.

"Jalapeno," Goliath breathed.

"No kidding," the Gold Slayer said, silently awed. "Where are we?"

"Whoa!" Willow exclaimed, closely examining every micrometer of the place with her eyes, already absorbed in what was around them.

"The gateway," The Daughter of Oberon said. "So, where do you want me to start?"

"The beginning would be nice," her alternate said.

"Well, I suppose it all began when I first met Thailog," Fey-Buffy began their story. "I was recovering from… a traumatic experience."

"Traumatic how?" Buffy was forced to ask as her companion was still investigating the gateway. The Daughter of Oberon looked over at her with sad eyes.

"My boyfriend at the time had gone evil," she told her. "He was going to awaken a demon that would send the world to hell. To stop him… I had to kill him. Not the easiest thing I'd ever done, but it had to be done. Anyway, I was still getting over it when I met Thailog. He had come to Sunnydale after his… argument with Xanatos, Sevarius and Goliath." Goliath growled softly, remembering the event she was referring to. 

"My original plan was to hide, lay low till I was ready to continue with my original scheme," Thailog took over. "Fortunately, for myself, I ran into something I didn't quite expect." He looked over at his Buffy lovingly.

"Of course, it wasn't all smooth sailings," she remembered. "But we got along alright. I didn't find out about what he did until a while later, but when I did, I made up my mind he was going to get past it." Thailog chuckled at the memories.

"I'd never met such a strong willed girl," he said. "She refused to take no for an answer, and went as far as enlisting Willow's, er, our Willow's help in getting in contact with Goliath." He corrected as he took into account present company.

"We were starting to get a line of communication opened when we had our first experience in dimensional travel," Buffy continued. "Three of Oberon's Children decided that we needed a trip to see what may have happened if I hadn't arrived in Sunnydale." She gave an involuntary shudder. "First thing we saw was the Wall that bordered the town, and then the destruction. First vampire we ran into, funnily enough, was Willow." There was a pair of gasps from the gargoyle and the Golden Slayer. "Yeah, though my reaction went a bit further."

Willow herself; however, seemed to be trying to petrify her own face into stone to keep from giving the sympathetic eyes she wanted to give this other Buffy.  She knew of alternates of herself that had been turned.  Met some of 'em too.

"A bit further?" her counterpart asked warily, somehow knowing exactly what her double's reaction had been.

"She slipped into the closest thing a Slayer knows to catatonia," Thailog explained, knowing how much the memory hurt her. "She became the Slayer, completely. All that mattered was hunting and killing vampires, no matter who it used to be." Willow looked over at the Daughter of Oberon, who had tears welling in her eyes at the thought of what happened.

The Gold Slayer winced.  Yeah, she had been right on the money with that.

"I didn't have a choice," she whispered. "She was attacking, and if she killed me, she would have killed Thailog. Besides, I couldn't stop it. The Slayer took total control."

"It's alright," Willow whispered. The idea of Buffy, any Buffy being put through that was horrifying. The Gold Slayer thought the same, though her reaction was a little more confusing.  She was laughing.

"What's so funny?" Thailog demanded to know.

"I've had some personal experience with that myself.  Only not from killing Willow… from protecting her," she explained, her voice entirely devoid of the laughter that had been there moments before.  "It can be useful, but it's more dangerous than you know.  I use it as my Berserker rage.  Since you've got magic, I would highly advise that you do _not_ do the same."

"Don't worry, I won't," Thailog's Buffy answered confidently.

The Slayer nodded and then frowned in confusion.

"Why?" she demanded, suddenly angry. "Why did you have to go through that?  Going to another world?" The Daughter of Oberon smiled.

"That comes later," she said. "Anyway, the Slayer went off hunting, leaving me lost, and kind of happy with the fact, because at that time, I was blaming myself for all the deaths. I'd probably still be there, if not for Angel."

"Angel?" The Gold Slayer asked.  Then she paused just as the fey was about to respond, and her face contorted in what might have been a grimace of pain.  "Angel was your boyfriend?  He went evil and you had to kill him?"

Surprised that she had figured it out, despite not saying the soul's name, Buffy nodded.

Again, the Gold Slayer winced, this time though Buffy asked what was wrong.

"We got a warning," The other Blonde said. "About Angel, and the curse, and the clause of a moment of happiness.  Angel and I…"  She stopped speaking when the Daughter of Oberon gave them all a seriously agitated look.

"You got a warning? Why didn't we get a warning?" She demanded angrily. Her features softened a bit. "Although, if I think of it, I don't think I would have taken it any other way. I mean, I wouldn't have met Thailog if it did." Goliath watched as his clone wrapped his arms around the petite blonde. This was definitely different to the Thailog he knew.

"Um, I've got a question," Willow said. "Since you said Angel was, and is dead, then how'd he help you?"

"Not really sure," Buffy said. "I talked to the Weird Sisters about it, and they said that the Powers That Be might have pulled his soul out of Angelus just as he was about to enter the portal he fell through. In any event, he got placed as my Guardian Angel, and helped guide Thailog to me in the first place."

"Oh," Willow said. "That makes sense." Her Buffy blinked at her.

"It does?"

"If we can finish the story?" her counterpart said.

"Sorry," the Gold Slayer said sheepishly. Thailog chuckled. They were more alike than they thought.

_"I heard that,"_ his Buffy sent. 

"Anyways," she continued out loud "the Powers sent him to help bring me back, while my father sent Puck."

"Who is your father that he could order Puck to do anything?" Goliath asked incredulously. She glared at him menacingly.

"You wanna make me ruin the punch line, fine," she said irritably. "I'm half Fey. My father is Oberon."

"Wha-wha-wha-what?" Willow managed.

"Okay, this is different," Willow's Buffy muttered.

"Jalapeno" Goliath muttered in awe.

"Can I finish the story without interruptions now?" The Daughter of Oberon asked. The three warriors nodded, dumbstruck. "Good. So, Angel shows up in my mind and helps me find my way, with help from Thailog and Puck. By the way," she said, looking at her counterpart, "if you were wondering why Thailog thought you dressed that way because it's the way you saw the Slayer, this is what I dressed like in that little corner of my mind." A glow surrounded her and a black leather one piece, long legs, no sleeves, and a modest neckline replaced her armour and cape.

"Oh!" Willow said. "No offence, but that looks way better than the armour." Her wife's counterpart shrugged.

"Ooo!  My clubbing outfit!" said wife exclaimed.  After several glances cast her way, the Fey-Buffy continued on.

"A gift from dad," she said. "It's not hard to modify, so that's cool. Anyway, we went off to find a way home found, only to find Giles, fully human, and a dimension jumping vampy me and her pet vamp Goliath."

"How'd that happen?" Goliath asked.

"The Mayor," The Daughter of Oberon said flatly. "He was undergoing a ritual that would turn him into a giant snake demon that would have trouble fitting in this room. That version lost Thailog during the battle. Afterward she had a run in with Spike. The rest, as they say, is history."

"Jalapeno," Goliath muttered. Thailog's Buffy nodded.

"Yeah, been there, skewered him about a thousand times during his invincible stage, blew up snake, end of story.  Except for the whole Spike bit.  Eww!"

"Tell me about it," she mumbled.  "After she was turned, she somehow found the gateway and tried to stop it from happening." She continued. "One time, she overshot, landing in Dark Ages Scotland to mark the young Goliath." She looked over at the large Gargoyle, who shook his head.

"I do not remember these things," he said. Thailog's Buffy shrugged.

"Probably for the best." She said. "Anyway, after she marked him, she jumped forward to make sure he had no one to defend him. Translated…"

"She killed the alternate us," her counterpart and Willow said together.

"Yep," she confirmed. "We dealt with that, found out she'd, somehow, kept some scrap of her soul, left her with Giles and headed home."

"How?" Goliath asked. "I assume you hadn't yet found this place."

"The same way we got there in the first place. The Weird Sisters," Goliath grunted sourly. "You've had dealings with them. They aren't too bad once you've had some time to get used to them. Of course, they took a liking to me I think. That helps."

"Okay, so you made it through the Mayor," the Gold Slayer said impatiently. "What's next?"

"Another vampy me…us," the Travelling Buffy said. "She tried to sink her fangs into Goliath to bring that world into being. Of course, there was one huge monkey wrench that she didn't see coming. Us. That's also where I found out about my dad." Thailog grinned.

"As I remember, you surprised everyone with your trick with you sword and dagger," he said.

"What trick?" the other Buffy asked, intrigued. Thailog shrugged.

"She lit them," he said.

"Huh?" the Daughter of Oberon drew her katana and lit the blade with the same blue flame she had accidentally against her vampy counterpart. "Whoa," the Gold Slayer gasped.

"Wow," Willow gasped. "That's…impressive."

"What happened next?" Goliath asked.

"Dad took us here to train for a while," Thailog's Buffy said. "Time freezes within this room and only a moment will pass outside. And then after Dad left us to 'explore' to hone my skill, we pressed, I think it was that stone there," she pointed at the rune that lead to the Stargate universe, "and met up with General Hammond of Stargate Command…"

"Stargate?" Willow asked suddenly.

"It is a gateway between planets," Ta'ruk explained. "It is mainly used by the Goa'uld, a race of parasites who enslave their hosts. My race, the Jaffa, is enslaved to them. I would still be in the service of the false gods if it were not for Buffy Summers."

"I know what a Stargate is; I was just surprised to hear that the US government would have a working one on this planet." Willow snapped at the Jaffa.  "The Ancients that built them across the omniverse, that is to say across the universe in every universe, were said to have dispersed millions of years ago.  The Goa'uld… I vaguely recognize the name, but don't know of them.  And no, we don't have a Stargate system in our universe.  Magick is more prominent in that use, as is high levels of technology.  And if we do, there no longer is a Stargate on this world.  If there were… I think it would be in our basement." She said the last to the Buffy standing right next to her, who shrugged in response.

"Anyway, we went on a mission with SG-1 to a living planet where my sweetie picked up this," Thailog held up the band.

"All planets are alive.  You just probably went to one old enough to have developed sentience on a human level," Willow explained.  "There are several of those like that, those that are lucky enough to survive that long that is, across our galaxy and many others, and…"

She was stopped by the other Buffy putting a hand over the Power mage's mouth.  "Sorry about that.  She stopped babbling when she got nervous and started babbling when talking about something "interesting"…"

"In other words too boring for words," the Fey inserted.

"…around the time that our story starts to differ from yours.  Now…" she released her hands from Willow's mouth, "what is this place?"  Fey-Buffy opened her mouth to repeat her earlier answer, just with a far more annoyed tone, when her dark-clad counterpart added at the last second, "Willow?"  Feeling foolish, she closed her mouth.

Willow nodded as she took one more look around the place.  "It's what she called it.  The Gateway.  Though to some it is known as the "Gateway of Escape" or the "Fairy's Rabbit Hole".  It's one of the 975 omni-present inter-dimensional points in just about every universe that exists.  Ergo…"

"Non-private use, meaning we can't start sending teams of superheroes through here to go save the day," the young looking Slayer finished, frowning.  She sighed and rubbed her forehead when all of a sudden the redheaded mage was there doing it for her.

"You didn't get to meditate today, did you?" Willow asked, though something in her tone broke of an accusation.

Buffy's face grimaced.  "No.  I got to meditate.  Early this morning."

Willow rolled her eyes and continued to massage the girl's head.  "That's stupid Buffy.  If you're going to meditate at all, do it midday or early afternoon.  Morning and night sessions we've decided aren't good for you."

"No, they just aren't good for my schedule.  Ugh.  Gods Wills, don't stop," she moaned with pleasure.

"Ahem!" the other Buffy in the room cleared her throat.  The two didn't move from what they were doing.

Goliath waved them off.  "They'll be at that for a bit," he explained, from having experience it sounded like.  Then he hesitated.  Finally he came to a decision.  "Thailog…"

Both Buffy and Thailog tensed, waiting for another argument, even if Goliath was calm about saying whatever comment would start it.

"…I'm sorry."

They blinked their shock away after a couple seconds, allowing Goliath to continue.  He didn't.

"What?  That's it?" Buffy demanded.

Goliath's shoulders, if it were ever at all possible, drooped significantly.  "It is all I can offer.  I once… after he had resurfaced, tried to apologize to my… our Thailog of our reality, for what I said on that night so long ago.  Quite obviously he refused any of my offerings of apology or whatever chance of kinship there might have been.  From your story, I know that you and your Goliath are no longer enemies.  Despite this, I still feel regret over my actions that night… and I hope that you will accept my apology… and forgive me."

Thailog and Buffy stared in disbelief for several moments.  The Goliath they knew would _never_ have said something like this.  To them anyway.

"We've been counselling Goliath and the others of the clan since we met them last month," Willow answered to their confused faces.  "He's realized a lot of the mistakes he's made didn't have to be made with some careful thinking and just following his heart.  Unfortunately, it's too late for the Thailog of our reality.  Thankfully, it's not for yours."

"I will never leave Buffy's side!" Thailog proclaimed.

"That's not what I meant," Willow replied with a smile.  "It never got to the point of where it went with ours, but it could have, had whatever edge between Thailog and Goliath remained.  You'd be surprised what an act of forgiveness can do for one's soul.  For both the one forgiving and the one forgiven."

"How the hell did you get so smart?  It is still 1999, isn't it?" Thailog's Buffy asked.

Willow smiled, still massaging her Buffy's head, the blonde seemingly in some kind of trance, her eyes closed.  "Summer of 1999 actually.  And… I've had experience.  Read a few books, and am empathically, permanently to that, connected to a psionic, who make telepaths and empaths of ordinary supernatural means look downright pathetic in comparison."

"By the way, Willow and I are married," Buffy said, her eyes still closed.

There was total silence in the chamber for about 90 to 100 seconds.

"Uhhh… come again?" the hetero Buffy finally was able to, hoarsely, ask.  In response to that question, Willow lightly slapped her Buffy on the back of the head.

"OW!" she whined and immediately rubbed the spot.  "Hey!  I was meditating!"

"Then you should have known better than to just blurt out your sexual preference!" Willow snapped right back.

"I didn't!  I announced our relationship.  And she was thinking I was still with Angel!  So… I set her straight," Buffy defended herself.

Willow couldn't help it.  She snorted out her laughter, trying to hold it in, and for the most part succeeding, stifling the laughs only after about twenty seconds of choking on them.

"It wasn't that funny…" Thailog's Buffy commented, thinking of the play on words.

Willow shook her head, now under control.  "It's not that.  It's the whole idea of a relationship with Angel.  They never got it to work in the first place."

"Why?" she wanted to know.  Angel was the only other person in any world, which she _thought_, she could ever love.

Suddenly the two Slayerettes became very quiet and sullen.  Goliath, however, having met Angel, not to mention heard the story, was not about to remain silent.

"Because Angel never lost his soul, as he did on your world," he said simply.

Buffy still winced in shame and guilt, and pain, every time that scenario was mentioned.  The Gold Slayer however stepped forward before she could go too far into her grief.

"Because I… no, we were warned beforehand.  About the happiness clause in his curse," she let out a big sigh and rubbed her forehead.

"Goddess I can't deal with this right now.  We're going back to my house.  Besides, we need to pick up Xander and Faith, drop Goliath off, we also need to hand those clones over to Xanatos," Buffy outlined.

"WHAT?" both Fey-Slayer and Thailog shouted in disbelief.

"You're going to turn them over to _Xanatos_ ?!!" Buffy shouted.

"He'll just turn them into mindless weapons; abuse them even more than an evil version of me would!" Thailog shouted.

The three just stood there staring, Ta'ruk staying back, prepared to defend his mistress no matter what.  Then they exchanged glances before Goliath raised his hand, a request to speak.

"I don't suppose either of you know of my daughter Angela?" he asked politely.

"Uh…who?" Buffy.

"What?" Thailog.

"Guess not," Willow's Buffy muttered.  "Uh, but Goliath, Elisa, and Bronx are all still in New York where, and when you come from?"

They both nodded, one still in shock over the revelations, the other still not quite trusting enough to speak.  "Then they probably just left right after you did or soon after.  Goliath, Elisa, and Bronx are destined to go to Avalon to help the inhabitants, the _human_ inhabitants fight off the advances of an evil human mage known only as the _Archmage_.  Unfortunately, like I'm guessing this place does, Avalon sends you where you _need_ to _be_.  When they got back from their world tour, Goliath, with his daughter Angela, and the rest of the reunited clan, saved Xanatos' only son.  That indebted Xanatos to Goliath and his clan.  We've also taken steps to ensure that Dave is on the up and up.  And yes, he hates it when I call him Dave.  You should start," she grinned at her counterpart.

"So…" Thailog lead.

"Xanatos will do everything to ensure that the clones are well-cared for, and are taught to know all that they wish to know.  In case you didn't notice, they are a bit… slow.  Thailog… uh, _our_ Thailog, programmed them for mindless obedience.  Xanatos programmed you with his mind… of the time.  As well as our Thailog.  Be glad you got a choice.  None of them did," Goliath answered.

Both gargoyle and Slayer nodded their understanding.  Suddenly Fey-Buffy looked confused and then panicked.  The Gold Slayer and Wiccan headed her off.

"This rune will take us back home," Willow answered before pressing the correct inset in the wall.  She disappeared in a red flame.  Then five seconds after reappeared in the exact centre of the room in a green flame.

"How did you—" Buffy started to ask.

"Never underestimate my wife," Buffy complimented as said wife came up to her to be embraced.

"Yeah, we'll be talking about that later," Buffy glared at her counterpart.  "But what I meant was, how the HELL did you get back here without coming through the gateway?"

"Fairy kings aren't the only ones with magic Buffy," Willow answered calmly, with a smile on her face.  "And there are beings that are far more powerful than even Oberon and Titania.  I should know; my teacher is one of them.  As am I."

"Why you little…!" Buffy felt a hot flash of royal pride go through her and immediately summoned all of her power to smite this insolent witch.

A powerful blue glow surrounded the half-human Child of Oberon, lightning shooting out of her eyes and hands.  Before she could even begin to _think_ about attacking though, a _brighter_ green light flooded the gateway chamber, at the centre of it, Willow was surrounded by an iridescent green-hued flame, lightning shooting out of her hands and eyes.  Before the daughter of Oberon could do or say anything more though, the earth beneath them grew giant hands and clasped the blue glowing Buffy between them.

Thailog and Ta'ruk were knocked back as easily as the clones had been by the other Buffy.

"I'm not even trying Buffy," Willow, again calmly, told the Child of Oberon.  Yet somehow, more because of the situation than any tone inflictions, the blonde sensed a threat of danger in that one phrase, more so than anything she had ever faced before.  Anything.

Slowly, realizing that, for right now, this Willow _was_ more powerful than her, she let go of her magic, but not too much as to be defenceless if she needed to do so at an instant.  The blue glow left her.  The ground hands released her and sunk back into the earth.

"We'll talk, and explain everything later," Buffy said finally, going to stand next to her wife while her counterpart helped her companions to their feet, "at my house.  Knowing your story we're not about to let you move on without _trying_ to help.  And I'll say the same thing to you that I did to Faith; you can't say no.  Not because you're a prisoner, or because of something you did, or because something someone else did, but because its for your own good, and I'm not giving you a choice.  Any questions?"

"Yeah!  What gives you the right to decide what happens next? You say it's for our good. How do you know?" the Golden Slayer sighed.

"Am I ever this difficult?" she asked.

"Yes," Willow and Goliath answered at the same time. Buffy shook her head.

"Look, we only want to help," she explained to her counterpart. "Aside from what you may be able to learn from Wills; there's also what I could show you.  It's… it's…" she stopped momentarily, groping for the right words. "I guess it's easier if I show you." She dropped into a horse stance and focused.

A golden aura, shaped and moving very much like an open wild fire, flashed into existence around her. The Travellers stood stock still, amazed. Thailog placed himself between the two defensively.  Then it happened again. The gem on the Band began to glow a dull red. The glow spread across the Gargoyle's entire body. The red that had entered his eyes flashed gold as he stared at the other Buffy.

"How the hell…?" She began, before letting the aura around her die.  Thailog's glow died almost immediately after. "Where'd you learn to do that?"

"I…do not know." Thailog admitted as his Buffy came behind him.

"That happened earlier, too," she said. "When your Thailog attacked me.  I think it has something to do with the Band." She sighed. "Guess there is something for us to learn here after all. We may even find one of those attachments we were told about."

"Good," Willow said.  "Now that that's settled, let's go!"  She then turned and pressed the inset rune nearest her.

"No wait!  You don't know..." Buffy tried to warn.  "Nonsense," Willow chastised before finally touching the rune, her wife beside her with a calm look on her face. "I can sense which rune point leads to which dimension.  This one leads to our home.  Buffy?  Make sure those three come along."

"Yes dear," Buffy replied as Willow disappeared in red flames. It didn't take much more convincing to get them all back to Central Park.  As always, when dealing with the Gateway, virtually no time had passed since their departure, so the others were still rounding up all the bad guys.  Xander and Faith were just returning with the evil Thailog.

As the two landed, the Daughter of Oberon noticed something.  "Um, you said Xander was here, right?" She said. Her counterpart nodded.

"Are you kidding me?" She said, confused. "He's over there helping Faith with Thailog."

"He's…" Buffy's jaw dropped when she saw a fully human Xander walk up to them.

"Hey Buff." Xander said to the Gold Slayer before turning to the other Buffy. "Hey Buff." A confused look spread across his face.

"Did I miss something? What's up with the other you Buffy?  Wait a sec; are they from another universe or... what?" Xander stopped speaking when he noticed the look on the new Buffy's face.

"Oh my… Xander?" The Half Fey stared at the image of what Xander used to be. "You're human… and all not wingy and stuff. How…?" 

"Obviously he did not have that run in with Sevarius," Thailog said as Xander mouthed to his Buffy "Wingy?"

"Oh, yeah," his love said. "I knew that. I just…"

"Someone want to explain what's going on?" Xander begged. "'Cause I'm lost."

"Something you forgot to mention?" the home Buff asked.

"Well," the Travelling Buffy said. "Xander got caught on the wrong side of one of Sevarius' darts and got turned into a Gargoyle."

"That explains the reaction," Xander said. "Wait, when did that happen, and why did I not get the memo?"

"Alright" the other Buffy sighed. "Willow, could you get the clones to Xanatos? Faith, Xander and I will get our visitors home. Then we can figure out what else she forgot to mention." The half Fey lowered her head.

"I didn't think about that," she admitted. "I figured you wanted the big, important stuff. Not that Xander's not important or anything, I just figured you wanted the happenings that brought us here."

"I get it," her double said. "You didn't think it was the info I was looking for. No biggie."

"I'm not important enough to worry about?" Xander asked, acting insulted.

"Xander, get over it," the local Buffy said. "Cordy'll make you feel important when we get home." Her double stiffened, a cold look entering her eyes. "Um, something I said?"

"What the hell has she got to do with anything?" she hissed.

"Hoo-boy," the Gold Slayer muttered.  "I think we should get back to Sunnydale so we can get this sorted out."

"I think so," her double said darkly. Cordelia making Xander feel anything but sad, angry or generally pissed off wasn't something she was used to and there was also the whole stabbing-them-in-the-back, trying-to-kill-her-Gargoyle bit.

Let's just Instant Transmit, I don't think even the gargoyle is ready for a hypersonic cross-country trip just yet Buffy communicated to the rest of the members of her team.

Willow soon disappeared with the captured clones, while Goliath went off with the rest of his clan, and the costumed heroes disappeared in their own fashions.  So to speak.

"We'll do this the fast and easy way," Buffy told her counterpart as she went and stood next to Thailog.  "Xander, you take Ta'ruk, he's the one with the tattoo on his forehead, Faith you take her."

"Take us how?" Thailog growled questioningly.

"Light speed," Buffy answered cryptically before grabbing his forearm in a grip than almost brought the powerful gargoyle to his knees.  The moment she did, both figures began to flicker briefly before disappearing entirely.

"What...!?" the remaining Buffy exclaimed, but Faith grabbed her before she could protest too much and they too flickered and disappeared.

Xander merely held out his hand for Ta'ruk to take, who did so after a moment's hesitation.  "Don't think this means we're goin' steady or anything," Xander joked before they too disappeared, but not before the Jaffa's eyebrow arched in curiosity.

_Sunnydale_

Despite leaving seconds after one another, the teleporting group all arrived in the Summers' living room at exactly the same time.

"…the HELL was that?!" Fey-Buffy screamed, too weirded out by tonight's events and too tired to even try controlling her emotions.

"Instant Transmission," her counterpart answered, "which is converting our personal matter into faster-than-light particles and then transmitting those particles at the speed of light to another point in space and reforming them.  We learned it a while ago, but before we go too into that... details now.  Before Cordy shows up, I want to know exactly what happened to you guys."

The Daughter of Oberon stiffened again. "It's not hard to explain really," she said as calmly as possible. "Remember when I told you about the Mayor? Well, not long after me and Thailog got back from our side trip, we found out he had a spy amongst our ranks. Cordelia."

"What?" Xander exclaimed. "No way, uh-uh, I don't believe it. Cordy'd never stab us in the back like that."

"Wish I could say the same for our Cordelia," Buffy said sadly. "She'd been delivering info on us to him for about a year, why, we don't know.  After we found out, though, it really got bad. She threatened Xander that anyone he got close to would get hurt, which caused him to distance himself from us for a while."

"The police of Sunnydale, those not taking bribes, were happy to have his help however," Thailog added. "With criminals hiring demons for protection, a Gargoyle was a valued commodity."

"Extra bonus, he caught the bad guys with their hands in the virus jar," his Buffy said.

"Virus jar?" her counterpart asked.

"A virus targeted at Thailog," the other said. "One that would have taken him from me permanently."

"I stopped that?" Xander remarked. "Yay me!"

"After that, Xander and Faith started getting close…" Buffy stopped to stifle laughter at the faces on Faith and Xander's faces, before sobering "…Then Cordelia got vicious. She attacked Faith with an army of vampires."

"I couldn't stop that?" Faith asked. "I must be a wimp there."

"They haven't had the same training we have, F," the Gold Slayer explained. "You would have been down to standard Slayer strength.  Remember that?"

"Um…think so," Faith answered. "But why me? Uh, I mean her?"

"She figured that, seeing as how you, er, she and Xander were so close, she'd be able to take him out of the game," the Travelling Buffy explained. "Then all she had to do was kill me and Thailog and game over."

"I can't believe this version is such a bitch," Xander muttered.  "Our Cordy would never do that. Ever."

"Yeah, well, she made a mistake," Buffy said with a smile. "She underestimated the Xand Man. He went after her and put her in a coma.  No offence, but she deserved it."

"None taken," Xander said. "I just can't believe any version of Cordy would do that."

"Do what?" Cordelia asked walking in. "And where have you…"  She stopped when she noticed two Buffys, one of whom was giving her a real dirty look. "Um, what's going on?"

"Cordelia, meet my reality-hopping alternate self who has a serious grudge against you," the home Buff said. "Along with her good Thailog and alien travelling companion."

"Hi" she said, waving.

"Greetings," Ta'ruk said. The other Buffy stared at her suspiciously.

"Would you chill out?" the Gold Slayer said. "She's not about to pull a gun on you or anything." The other Buffy glared for another second before exhaling.

"Sorry," she muttered. "I just have a real hard time believing any version of that traitorous bitch isn't going to try to kill me."

"Run that last bit by me again?" Cordelia said. She stood there as they went over the story again. 

She was quiet for several moments.  They had left out the worst details of this other version of her's betrayal, and only gone into that she had worked for the Mayor, and had been "taken care of" by their world's Xander.

"Oh my god," she muttered. She looked at the new Buffy. "I understand the death stare now, but believe me, I would _never_ do that to any of them. Especially Xander."

"You'll forgive me if I'm a bit suspicious," the Daughter of Oberon said.

"So, Chobe…" Faith began.

"Chobe?" Thailog's Buffy growled.

"Yeah, Chobe. CHild of OBEron," the Dark Slayer explained. "We can't exactly call you just Buffy.  'Specially with ours in the same room.  That'd be way to confusing."

"Gap in the story," Xander coughed.

"You said it!" Cordy agreed.

"We'll fill you in once everyone else gets here," their Buffy said.

"Then we want your story," her double told her. "There's a lot we don't understand, and I'd prefer you told us."

"What if we don't?" Faith said.

"Easy, F." The Gold Slayer muttered, though curious to what the answer might be. The Daughter of Oberon shrugged.

"I ask the earth itself," she said naturally. "I'm sure it'd know most of the story at least. Is there somewhere I can freshen up?"

"Yeah, upstairs bathroom," Gold Slayer replied pointing, "Probably exactly the same as yours."  Her voice was quiet, as though she were doing some heavy thinking and could only provide a small portion of her brain power to what she was saying.

'Chobe' went up the stairs without another word, but several mistrustful glares were cast between Cordelia and the new arrival in the Summers' home.

"Someone wanna fill me in?" Cordelia asked the room.

"Honey, is everything all right?" Joyce Summers asked as she walked into the room.  She hardly batted an eye at Thailog and Ta'ruk, but did stare for several seconds at first glance.

"Just some friends, new friends actually, who need some help.  We're probably going to be up for a while, trading stories and such.  If you wanna go on up to bed I'll make sure everything's locked up Mom," Buffy told her mother.

"Well, it is getting kind of late, and I guess, since it is the summer, you can do pretty much whatever you'd like, just don't stay up all night.  I left some chicken out if you get hungry, and Willow knows where the late snacks are if anyone else gets hungry," Joyce replied.

She was almost to the stairs when she stopped and turned back around, "Are they going to be staying the night?" she asked, pointing at the two alien visitors.

Buffy shrugged and looked at Thailog and Ta'ruk, the question in her eyes.

"We can probably hole up in a hotel somewhere…" Thailog started to say.

"Nonsense!" Joyce suddenly exclaimed.

"I'd hate to impose…" Thailog tried again.

"Buffy?  Invite your friends to stay.  In the guest house if they must, but I will not have…"

"Mom?" Buffy interrupted.  "This is Thailog and Ta'ruk, and Willow's already taken care of the sleeping arrangements.  Thailog sleeps during the day anyway.  Go to bed Mom, we'll be fine.  Oh, and don't let the other me distract you.  You've had a busy day…"

"Buffy, I don't like to be babied," Joyce interrupted with a sharp tone, but a motherly smile graced her face as she ascended the stairs.  Almost as soon as Joyce went up the stairs, Willow came in from the back of the house and sat down on Buffy's lap with a kiss.

"That was… interesting…" Thailog said hesitantly once Joyce had left the room.

"Your mother is a kind and generous woman," Ta'ruk offered.

"Thank you, and after everything else Mom has had to deal with this year, this ain't nothing.  But now to Cordelia's question…"

"What's with Mom?" Chobe interrupted the moment she came down the stairs.

Buffy closed her eyes and took several deep breaths.  "I don't lie to my mother," she answered shortly.  "I also do not like being interrupted when I am short on patience and energy.  Please sit down until I am done."

Everyone became noticeably quiet after the brief verbal assault.  It seemed that a disturbing transformation had taken place within the Gold Slayer since receiving the "details" of what had happened to this other version of her.

"Cordelia, you remember when we explained about the whole parallel universe, alternate reality, other dimension thing, right?"

Sensing that she would _definitely_ not like where this was going, Cordelia nodded silently and sat down next to her dark-haired superman, a pet name she had given him in high school.

"She and Thailog come from one, and Ta'ruk here from another that they visited just before here," Buffy began.  "In their home universe… events… happened differently.  Despite all the obvious… something happened.  To their Xander.  It involves their Cordelia as well."

Really not liking this now, and frowning with concern, Cordelia asked, "What happened?  What?  Did she like stay a stuck up snob like I was before you guys took me in?  And… what happened to Xander?" she asked, quieter than before, a tremble in her voice.

"He… was genetically altered to a gargoyle, by Anton Sevarius, of their world.  But… their Cordelia also…" the Gold Slayer would say no more.  But Cordelia's face was already grief-stricken.

"Omigawd!" she gasped.  "Did, uh, did they force the doc to come up with a cure?"

"There is no cure," Thailog grunted sadly.

"THERE IS ALWAYS A CURE!!" Cordelia suddenly shouted.  Xander immediately embraced her from behind, and all of the Travellers were surprised to see tears pouring from her eyes.

"It's all right, it's all right," they heard Xander whispering to her.

"No it's not all right Xander!" she turned in his embrace to face him.  "Their Xander is a gargoyle, that means that he's stuck in stone for the day.  If… if that happened to you, I would die.  I would be dead, as cold as that stone for the day, and only alive at night when I could be with you.  I… I…"

"That's not the bad news honey," Xander whispered to her, but all heard him.

Cordelia's eyes widened slightly as she just remembered that Buffy had mentioned her other self.  "Wh-wh-what happened?  What did… what happened after…?"  She couldn't seem to finish the question.

"She betrayed him," Thailog said sullenly.

"What?"

It was little more than a gasped whisper, but it had more effect than a thousand decibel shout.  Chobe was the one to finally blurt it out.  "She betrayed us all!  Your counterpart, she dumped Xander because of what happened to him, and shortly after that, we found out that she had been betraying us to the Mayor for more than a year.  Yeah, the big snake, Ascension Mayor.  What's more is that she threatened Xander and the people that were close to him so he would stay away from the gang.  Then she went and attacked our Faith with an army of vamps that put her in the hospital.  Instead of cowing out like she expected him too though, Xan went and put her in the hospital.  A coma actually.  Good riddance to bad rubbish!"

Cordelia was pale.  One could almost say dangerously, but they had all seen vampires paler than that, except maybe Ta'ruk.  Then something even more shocking happened than whatever any of them had been expecting.

Cordelia's face suddenly twisted in rage, her entire head a boiling red contrast to the stark paleness it had been a second before, and she shouted, tearing herself out of Xander's arms, "That **_*BITCH!!*_**"

Briefly, both Thailog and his Buffy had thought that she too had worked for the Mayor and that by revealing this; Cordelia would tip her hand and prove that they were right about her.  Instead, she was not attacking them, but building in her rage, apparently against her counterpart.

"She, she, she… she worked for that slime, that…  She betrayed Buffy… Xander…  That stupid, cowed, slimy, snake-loving, dog-faced **BITCH!!**  I can't…  She is so…  If I ever get my hands on that BITCH! I am going to teach her a whole new lesson of pain and suffering that she will never forget and could teach SATAN a thing or two WHEN I SEND HER **TO HELL!!**"  All through this, she is pacing the living room, getting more and more agitated, until at the moment she announces where she intends to send her other self, she is standing in front of the far wall, opposite the foyer, and punches a hole through the wall big enough to fit a basketball through.  The funny thing is, her fist wasn't even scratched.

"Cordy!" Xander cries and goes to her, where immediately she collapses.  Both emotionally, and physically into his arms, crying and wailing.

"She betrayed you Xander… I betrayed you…  I'm so sorry, I'm so, so, so, sorry.  How can you ever forgive me!" she wailed into his chest, but he just held her.

Buffy got up and stood behind her friend and slowly raised a hand to place on her shoulder.  "Sleep now.  We can deal with this in the morning," she said quietly.  Instantly, Cordelia fell asleep in Xander's arms, still weeping.

"I'll take her to bed," Xander acknowledged.  "Besides, you don't need me to tell any of this story."  With that he went upstairs.

"What was that…" Chobe tried to ask.

"What did I say about interrupting?" Buffy snapped at her.

Frowning, her double snapped back, "What is your problem?"

Buffy stared at her for several seconds before ultimately just going back to her seat and staring intently at her guests.

"1997, early October.  Two weeks after the night of St. Vigious, where Spike crashed Parent/Teacher Night.  Xander, Willow, and I are patrolling.  We take out a bunch of vamps, when as soon as we're done with them, we hear this loud explosion.  We go and look, and voila we see something not even you can imagine.  3 robed figures; each roughly about thirty feet tall, on average, sitting on some kind of dais that makes _them_ look small.  And they're watching the biggest vamp you can imagine, take on a blue skinned alien, not demon, alien, in a fight that not even you and your boy toy there could handle.

"Once the fight is over, Giles shows up, screaming about a prophecy he just found.  All his shouting attracted the robes attention, and next thing we know, we're in a null-place where the dais and the robes are on our scale instead of God's.  They end up being the Powers That Be, basically the guys that run the whole destiny crap for Slayers and other Champions of humanity.

"Turns out that I have a destiny that sets me apart from other Slayers, and in fact, different from other… well, other _me'_s.  I of course, am speaking of the fact of other versions of me in alternate realities.  I'm like supposed to be the most powerful or something.  _What_ did I say about interruptions?"

Silence.

"There were two other people there, besides us and The Powers That Be, and not the alien and the vamp.  They are known only as the Powers.  For our sake, they chose the first names Samantha and Samuel.  They are more or less responsible for maintaining balance in the multiverse.  But to pass the time of what they call a boring job, they set up a Tournament.  A Tournament of Good and Evil.  Champions of Good versus Champions and spawns of Evil.  That night, they offered us a place among Good.  In the Tournament that is.  We accepted.

"Immediately after, we were transported to a pocket dimension that is known only as The Compound.  There a veteran fighter for Good trained us.  Xander became more or less my equal in strength, a lot more than Angel had been before that, that's for sure.  I got a whole lot more power and strength, not to mention skills and way cooler powers with the training.  Giles got a magic sword, please don't ask, and Willow has become the most powerful magic-user in this entire universe.  We think."

"There's no absolute way to be certain of that," Willow added.

"When we got back from Training, everything changed," Buffy picked back up.  "I… it was at the Compound that I was warned about the happy clause in Angel's curse.  It took me another month, but I told him too.  Before that, I had been trying like crazy to… to see if I still wanted to love him.  It was more than obvious that he was in love with me, but…  After I told him, we just couldn't possibly see how it could work out.  So…"

"That's where I come in," Willow added sadly.

"You?" the other Buffy blurted out.

Willow nodded sadly.  "I… because of Buffy and Angel's troubles, and because of some other issues I was… barely dealing with at the time, I cast a spell.  It… it was meant to help all of us find our true loves.  Only it… backfired."

"Big time, from the way I heard the story," Faith chuckled.

"It cemented Xander and Cordelia's relationship, but it also screwed up a bunch of others.  Let's just say the combinations were not pretty, but…  Except for the one that didn't change."

Confused glares were passed back and forth among the guests, before finally Buffy told them, "Because of that spell, I fell in love with Willow.  And not the normal kind of "love", but "love spell devotion love".  So did about half the girls in high school as well.  Then, when Wills tried to reverse the spell, there were a couple of side effects."

"Buffy, uh, our Buffy, became permanently gay.  And every woman in Sunnydale affected by the spell became at least bi-sexual.  So did every guy that had fallen for a guy.  And Cordelia developed a psychological need to be near Xander.  Kinda like an imprinting thing," Willow explained.

"She tried multiple counter spells, and even reversed most of and the worst of the side effects, including Cordelia's addiction to X.  Except, that is, me," Buffy added, taking her wife's hand.

"Then there's the deal with Spike and Drusilla, and another demon named Archius.  Be glad you never got to meet anything like that one," Willow added, trying to change the subject.

"Then when Faith came to town, I made it so that she got the same training that the rest of us did, and my codename went from just Slayer, to Gold Slayer, while Faith became Dark Slayer."  Buffy paused at the confused looks she received.  "Oh, didn't we explain about that?  Huh.  Well, when we first got to the Compound, we were all assigned codenames.  I, obviously, became Slayer; Xander got to be Warrior X, still is actually.  Willow is now Wiccan; Giles is, obviously, Watcher.  And Faith is Dark Slayer."

There was a few more minutes of quiet in the living room, until, sensing that the story was complete, for now, Thailog asked, "So… what all is it that this Training you received, allows you to do?"

They all grinned, rather mischievously.

"Tell you what," Buffy said, getting to her feet, "We'll not only tell you, we'll give you a full demonstration tomorrow.  After breakfast, and once Willow works out something or two.  We have a guesthouse in the back yard.  Can't miss it, it's as big as any pool house in uptown LA.  Tonight, it's late, even for two, er three Slayers and their demon hunter friends.  Thailog, you are welcome to roost on the roof if you so desire, but if you're staying inside, please stay in the laundry room of the guest house, it's a pain getting stone chippings out of that shag carpet."

"Well what about holes in your walls?" Chobe asked, gesturing at the earlier hole made by Cordelia.

Buffy looked at it and shrugged and then looked at her redheaded companion.  The redhead grinned slightly and then waved her hand casually, green sparks shooting out of the wave and settling over the room, and before everyone's eyes, the hole sealed as though a fast healing wound.

"Sorry about the abrupt hospitality, but if you're going to be dropping in on people, try to make it so that at least you do it before midnight." Buffy told them, before she suddenly disappeared.

"Where did she…?" her counterpart startled.

"Bed.  Which is where I will join her as soon as I settle you three.  Faith?" Willow answered.

"I'm hitting the sack too.  Night Big T, 'night Little T, 'night Chobe," Faith mumbled through a yawn as she went to climb the stairs.

"Don't call me that!" Buffy shouted after her.

"Yeah, yeah," Faith mumbled as she went upstairs.

_Summers' Guest House_

"So, what do you guys think?" Buffy asked after Willow had left.

"It is interesting how different this version is from you." Ta'ruk said.

"Be glad you didn't meet the vampy versions," Buffy muttered. "They would've really got you on edge. Am I ever that…"

"Commanding?" Thailog suggested with a grin.

"I was going to say 'pushy'," Buffy muttered.

"I'm sure she will be more welcoming come the morrow," Thailog said. 

Buffy sighed.

"Yeah, you're probably right," she said, looking around. "Think we should do this back home? This guesthouse idea's a good one if the Clan ever comes to visit. Or the Council." Her eyes moved to Ta'ruk, who was standing by the door. "You know, you can relax." The Jaffa looked out the near by window.

"I am sorry," he said. "I come from a warrior race pushed into the service of false gods. I am not used to…relaxing."

"Well, get used to it," Buffy said. "You stay on edge like that; you'll give yourself a heart attack."

"I assure you, my symbiote will protect me from such an event," Ta'ruk told her.

"Huh?" was the comment.

"You did not know?"

"You'll forgive us," Thailog said. "You must remember we are unfamiliar with your people." Ta'ruk nodded uncomfortably.

"So what's this symby-thingy?" Buffy asked.

"It is a Goa'uld larva," Ta'ruk informed them.

"General Hammond neglected to mention that," Buffy muttered. "So when's Junior become a full fledged body snatcher?"

"I am unsure," Ta'ruk said. "Only that it will."

"Okay, mental note; watch out for glowing eyes." Buffy muttered. "Anything else you want to tell us?"

"I am sorry," Ta'ruk said. "I would understand…"

"Stop," Buffy ordered. "You volunteered to come with us, and we accepted. Therefore, you stay. Besides, maybe we can find some way to remove that thing safely. I presume we can't just reach in and pull it out?" Ta'ruk shook his head.

"No. I would be unable to survive without it," he informed them.

"Right. Something else we need to look for," Buffy sighed, frustrated. "I really need to talk to someone about this." She complained, heading for a bedroom. "Goodnight guys."

"Do not worry," Thailog assured Ta'ruk. "This will change nothing for her."

"I would understand if it did," Ta'ruk said. "To have such as me… it… in your midst…"

"She fell in love with a vampire with a soul," Thailog reminded him. "I assure you, an infant parasite does not truly bother her. It has just been a hard couple of hours for her." Ta'ruk nodded. Thailog looked out the window. Strange how they were so much alike, both of them created and raised to serve the whims of power hungry beings, rebelling for different reasons. "If you don't mind, could I persuade you to tell me a bit about your past? I still have a few hours before sunrise, and it would fill the time." Ta'ruk nodded.

"It is not a difficult story," he began. "I was born on a Jaffa colony far from the centre of Goa'uld controlled space. The master of the planet, Belial, was a general to a fallen System Lord, and a cruel master." He removed one of his wristbands and showed a strange brand. "He used this to mark his slaves at birth. It is burned into the skin, and will never heal."

"Gods," Thailog muttered. "What sort of monster is he?"

"A disgraced one," Ta'ruk told him. "He is the one whom Buffy Summers defeated."

"I have a feeling he will not be able to hurt your people for a long time," Thailog said with a grin. "Buffy was unusually harsh considering he still had a pulse. And rather thorough too."

"She did deal with him in an…interesting manner," Ta'ruk said.

"You should've seen what we did to the Mayor," Buffy said, returning from her room. "Now that was interesting. Blew up the high school to do it."

"I thought you were going to bed?" Thailog asked. Buffy shrugged.

"You were talking about me," she said. "That means I get to join in. 'Sides, I may not be able to do anything about Junior, but this brandy thing…" She shrugged as she walked over to Ta'ruk. "Can I have a look?" The Jaffa obliged, showing her the mark. "Shoulda squished that snake when I had a chance," she muttered. She waved her hand over it, emitting a blue glow. "Anything else?" she said, as Ta'ruk looked at his wrist. The mark that had haunted him for so long was gone. "Oh, wait, I know." She did the same to the tattoo on his forehead, causing it to disappear. "There. I am useful for some things," she muttered happily.

"Is that what this is about?" Thailog asked.

"Huh? No," Buffy denied. "Well, maybe a little." Thailog wrapped his arms and wings around her.

"You have no need to prove yourself to me," he said.

"Nor to me," Ta'ruk said. "You freed me from the false one in a way that leaves me no doubt as to your power. That these people are stronger means only that you need more experience." Buffy grinned.

"Thanks, guys. I appreciate it," she sighed softly. "Guess I should apologize tomorrow. I did act like a bit of a brat." Her fingers traced their way around Thailog's Band. "We've learnt one thing at least; there's a hell of lot more to this thing than we thought. What was with that anyway?"

"I am not sure," Thailog said. "All I know was that you were in some sort of danger. The Band may be reacting to my emotions."

"I'd believe that except for that multi-roar of yours," Buffy said, referring to the roar that he used when he attacked the other Thailog. "That was weird."

"Perhaps he summoned the strength of many Gargoyles," Ta'ruk suggested.

"All I know is that it's way too late for me to try and wrap my brain around this," Buffy muttered. "Maybe Willow knows something, she seems a lot smarter than our version, and I didn't think that was possible. Though it's nice to see she stuff's up spells too. Hate to tell Willow she's the only version that does that."

"Though the final affect was an… amusing one," Thailog said.

"Amusing?" Buffy asked. "You find it amusing?" Thailog smiled.

"It is obvious that they love each other as much as we do," he said, caressing her cheek gently. "As strange as it is to us, we should be happy for them. In a way, she is your sister."

"Guess your right," Buffy said, leaning back into him. "Though if you for one second mistake her for me, I'm locking you in the Gateway, understand?"

"It will never happen," he said, kissing her on the forehead. "You should get some sleep."

"Tuck me in?" she asked impishly.

"Of course," Thailog led her to the room.

"Night, Ta'ruk," Buffy said. The Jaffa leaned against his chair, looking out the window. Despite her power, she was just a girl and if this trip had proven anything, it was that there're more powerful beings out there, and not all of them would be friendly. He touched the spot on his forehead that had once held Belial's mark and vowed he would not let anything happen to her.

_Summers Home_

_Morning_

The Child of Oberon walked sleepily across the back yard to the kitchen entrance, holding her yawn behind a hand as she entered to a rather bizarre sight.  Her counterpart, said counterpart's wife, and Cordelia were all at the counter top, staring at her.  They were all identically dressed in workout clothes, except for the colours.  Buffy in black, Willow in green, and Cordelia in purple.

At the moment they were all staring at her, and then went back to what they had been staring at, which was the morning entertainment of kitchen antics, performed by Xander and Faith.  Oberon's daughter then did a double take at the sight.  Xander, clad only in bright red spandex shorts (and looking way more yum—buff than she could ever remember him being before), was racing around the kitchen, actually blurring at some points, preparing a breakfast that could feed every third world country for two months easily, while Faith, clad in a silver and grey version of the girls' outfits, was slicing, dicing, and tossing all the ingredients Xander was working with.

What caused the entertainment was that they were both doing it like clowns at a circus might, but with such precision, speed, and strength that it took out all hilarity and left one with a sense of awe at the sight.

Speechless, Buffy slowly sank into a spot beside her "sister" Thailog had called her, and joined in staring.  "You do this often?" she asked the blonde next to her.

She shrugged.  "Only on mornings we're planning to train.  We need the energy.  It's fun besides, and those two are so proud that they finally learned to cook they like to show off as much as they can.  Willow and Mom are officially the best cooks in this house.  I rank about third next to them, while everybody else is mostly just quick-fix stuff.  Should try my gruel, gives you plenty of energy."

Giving her an incredulous look, she repeated, "Gruel?"  She just received a smile for her grief.

"OK, I can see you're in a better mood, but I've never known a night's sleep to work on me this well," Chobe observed.  Xander and Faith were speeding things up, and the food was beginning to leave a pleasant aroma in all of their noses.

Buffy gave a sly smile to Chobe, but didn't answer with words.

Fifteen minutes later, breakfast was ready and Ta'ruk and Joyce had joined them, drawn by the amazing smells wafting from the kitchen and dining room.  Before anyone began to eat though, Willow blessed the food, the meal, and the people eating it with a Wicca prayer.  What amazed the Fey-Slayer though, was that she thought she detected some kind of magic leaving the Wiccan, and what could only be an honest to Goddess _real_ blessing drifted down over the people and the meal.  She chose not to say anything just yet.  This was after all, Willow.

After breakfast, Joyce left for the art gallery, and Xander went with Cordelia to wherever she currently lived to explain why she had been out all night.  She didn't think the once Queen C of Sunnydale High lived with her parents anymore, though she couldn't explain why, except for the fact that when Cordy and Xander left, they did not say anything about her parents, only they were going to explain where she'd been to her current lodgings.

"Wait a sec," Chobe demanded as the three women led her and Ta'ruk upstairs to the new wing on the Summers Home that certainly didn't exist on her world, "You guys said that Xander and Faith both lived here, and so does Willow apparently.  But you didn't explain why that was."

A cold breeze floated through the hallway for a moment before Buffy turned and faced her counterpart with a serious expression on her face.  "Less than a month after we got back from Training," she began, "I found out that Xander's father was beating him, and had been ever since Xander grew into puberty.  Faith… initially I invited her into my home out of selfishness, my inability to protect and save Kendra made me want to protect her as best I could.  Eventually though, it was because Faith deserved better than living in some two-bit motel and I couldn't let my sister live anywhere but under the same roof I did."

Faith smiled at her "Sister Slayer" and added to the explanation, "I was also about as screwed up as X was.  Joyce, Xander, and especially B and Red here helped me out with my life.  Straighten a lot of things out and clear out the gutter upstairs.  Not to mention…"

She was suddenly interrupted by a very loud cough from the green-clad redhead, and then received an extra harsh glare until both Slayers shut up quickly.  Then she turned to the third Slayer and explained herself, "Remember Buffy mentioned last night that I had to take care of a couple things before we showed you what our Training allows us?  Well one of those things is to help out Thailog.  The first thing we did after meeting the New York clan, was I began researching every possible avenue for them to safely stay awake during the day.  AKA, no stone sleep."

She turned and led them into a room labelled in several languages, "WILLOW'S WORK ROOM:  STAY OUT!"  Inside was a combination of every imagining Chobe had ever had of both a mad scientist's laboratory, a sorcerer's sanctum, and Willow's computer wet dream.

"I finally managed to do it," Willow continued, going over to a long table full of electronics and magical talismans.  Buffy could _feel_ the magic in this room, and it only convinced her further that she was not as top dog as she once believed.

"First thing to consider is a gargoyle's biology.  They _need_ stone sleep, as humans need sleep and food.  During the day, as stone, a gargoyle absorbs solar energy, which is mostly where the healing and energy revival come into play.  But more than that, if they did not go into stone sleep regularly; their biological make-up would be thrown completely out of whack.  Sort of like anorexics with sleep deprivation.

"First step is to make it so that by keeping them awake during the day, I didn't accidentally do that to them.  It was actually easier than I thought, because whether stone or flesh, a gargoyle's skin is always absorbing the energy of the sun.  Next was focusing and creating the magic needed.  I constructed three talismans, one I have, one the clan has, and the last is hidden from the world.  These three are the Primary Key Talismans that allow the amulets the gargoyles wear to work.  As long as just one of the Talismans exists, the amulets the clan have will work.  So long as they wear those amulets, they do not turn to stone during the day."

"That's great!  Slap one on Thailog now!" Chobe was beyond excited at this news.

Willow shook her head.  "I have two things to take into account before I do that.  The first is that eventually, you will leave, and the talismans will no longer protect Thailog from turning to stone during the day, the amulet useless.  So I have to construct something that you can take with you.  That brings me to the second thing.  The magic, or whatever power it is, that is in his band is very unique and I can't risk combining two very possibly different magicks on a living being that may counteract each other in totally unforeseen ways.  I'm going to first have to study the band and what power or powers it has before I can even begin to research what type of spells I'll need to make another talisman for you to use on Thailog alone."

Chobe immediately deflated, and almost slouched as she asked, her face sullen, "And how long will that take you?"

Willow looked thoughtful for a moment before she answered with a straight face, "About five minutes, give or take a minute or two.  I'll have it ready in about ten minutes."

Chobe blinked.  "Then what the hell was with this lecture when you could have already been making the thing?!!"

Willow grinned knowingly, "Because I wanted to explain why you're going to be standing outside for the next ten minutes rather than make Buffy and Faith do it.  Now shoo."

Shaking her head in disbelief as she and the rest were 'shooed' Chobe quickly regained that overwhelming, bursting joy of within as she waited both patiently and impatiently outside the Work Room.  Patience was demonstrated by her not saying a word for the ten minutes they waited; while impatience was easily displayed as she paced the hall.

_Shortly After_

 Buffy was nervous as they walked across to the guesthouse. "Are we sure this'll work?" she asked.

"Buffy." Willow said in mock disappointment. "Your lack of faith in me is appalling. It'll work."

"Would you relax, Chobe?" Faith said. "Red's never got it wrong before."

"Love spells not with standing?" the Daughter of Oberon reminded her.

"Do you want me to do it?" her counterpart asked "threateningly". She remembered the warning about Thailog confusing them.

"I'll do it," she said, taking the amulet from Willow. "I guess I'm just worried about losing him. Guess that sounds kinda silly…"

"Considering your last relationship, I don't blame you," Faith said, receiving hard stares from the other three. "What?"

"Guess we'd better get this done," Fey-Buff muttered. "I just hope he doesn't fall of the roof."

"How're you going to get up there anyway?" her counterpart asked. Buffy grinned as she called her power and floated up until she was level with her beloved. "Oh."

"Cool," Faith added. "She hasn't even Trained the way we did."

"I do not doubt her powers," Ta'ruk said from behind her. "And I would not underestimate her. If not for her, I would still be serving a cruel master, a false god with no care for the wellbeing of myself or my people."

"So, what happened to him?" Willow asked, intrigued. Ta'ruk looked at her.

"She blew his hands off," he said calmly.

"Oh" the Gold Slayer looked up at her counterpart. "Blew off his hands as in beams of energy, or…"

"The Goa'uld use palm devices to replicate what the Daughter of Oberon does naturally," Ta'ruk explained, remembering what Teal'c had told him. "Buffy Summers merely…overloaded these devices."

"Brutal," Faith said with an appreciative grin. "Whaddya think, Wills?"

"I think we underestimated her," Willow whispered. "She's capable of a lot more than she realizes."

The Daughter of Oberon was oblivious to this conversation. She held the amulet out in front of her. "Well, big guy," she whispered, "here we go. Fingers crossed." She floated forward, placing the amulet around his neck, then moved backward slightly and waited for a reaction. It didn't take to long before cracks appeared down Thailog's body. Buffy grinned as flakes started to fall to the ground. When Thailog finally burst from his stone skin, she couldn't hold it in any longer. She did some Puck like flips in the air before wrapping her arms around him.

"Buffy, what…?" Thailog began, and then he saw the sun. "It is day? But how…?"

"Willow," Buffy whispered. "She found a way around the stone sleep.  That's what she had to work on this morning. She had to build one especially for you because of the Band."

"This is…"

"Amazing, awesome, brilliant…" she began going through the synonyms for 'good' alphabetically before Thailog covered her mouth with his. They remained that way for a while before Faith's catcalls got their attention. "I forgot they were watching," Buffy muttered.

"Then perhaps we should remove them from the equation?" Thailog suggested. Buffy grinned and teleported them to the gateway for some 'private time.'

"I think they're happy," Faith said. Ta'ruk turned to Willow.

"Thank you," he said, bowing slightly. "His… condition has left her worrying through the day." Willow shrugged it off.

"She probably would have done something similar eventually," she said. "I just sped the process up a bit."

"How long you think they'll be gone?" Faith asked.

"Knowing Buffy?  If they've gone where I think they've gone," Willow said knowingly, "they should be back soon."

_The Gateway_

"Now, where were we?" Buffy said as they appeared.

"I was thinking the guesthouse," he said.

"I know," Buffy said. "We've got more time this way." She snuggled up to him. "I probably would have thought of something sooner, but I had no way of knowing how it'd go. Willow's idea saved us the trouble of finding out."

"We'll have to thank her," Thailog said.

"Later," Buffy said. "Right now, I want a kiss."

"Just the one?"

"We'll see," was the suggestive answer.  

The couple appeared back in the normal realm seconds later.

"Welcome back," the Gold Slayer said demurely. The couple grinned, not leaving a centimeter of space between them. "Now that you guys are done, how about we get on to that demonstration?"

"Definitely," Chobe said. "I want to see what this Training is that separates us." Her counterpart grinned.

"This should be good."

_Training Gym (Summers Home)_

"Oh.  My.  Gawd." were the first words out of the other Buffy's mouth when the Gold Slayer ushered everyone inside the seemingly small broom closet at the back of the house.

The Training Gym, according to the residents of the household, was a very new addition, not even a week had it been here, and with much thanks to several of the many multi-millionaire entrepreneurs the Slayer Team knew.

In the house itself it only occupied about a three by four foot frame.  Four feet across for the door, and three feet in.  However, once everyone was inside, it was revealed to be so much more.

The Training Gym was over 900 meters high, and as near as the newcomers could tell, over 1000 kilometres in circular diameter.  It was domed, the dome itself looking like opaque glass or some plastic equivalent, and on the far side opposite the house entrance, was a solid steel door that, besides the many signs that said it, spoke of danger beyond.

Interspersed among the floor were seven raised platforms, kinda like wrestling rings, minus the ropes, and the poles on the corners had coloured light on them, facing inward towards the ring.  The platforms were at the center of the dome however.  Just outside of the "ring arena" were a series of white circles on the metal floor.

Near the entrance, there were many places where one could sit and relax.  There were two "pits", areas where the ground had been lowered and filled with pillows, comfortable seating areas, and one even had a giant TV in it.  There were also benches, couches, and the like facing the rest of the Gym.

Near the wall, multiple exercise equipment of nearly every type, creating a fence of the strength-enhancing machines.  For two kilometers, there was actually a straight line of treadmill machines.  All in all, the entire place was made for strengthening the body.

And then there was the red semi-circle right in front of the house door.  It was six and a half meters out from the door, plenty of space, but to Thailog, Buffy, and Ta'ruk, it served no real purpose beyond decoration.

"This is amazing!" Chobe exclaimed as she raced to the edge of the red line.  Before she got with a foot of it however, her counterpart moved faster than the eye could see and stopped her cold.

"Trust me, you do _not_ want to cross that line right now," Buffy told her.  No threat or intimidation was involved here, that Chobe could see.  Her double was really warning her.

"Why?  What'll happen?  The place will self-destruct?" she asked teasingly.

"No, something much worse.  Where's Xander anyway?  He was the last one to use this place!" Buffy demanded.

"I'm right here!  Geez, what's the problem Buff?" Xander whined as he and Cordelia came into the Gym.

"Why the hell did you leave the Gravity so high?!" Buffy exclaimed.

"Gravity?" Thailog repeated.

"That's what the red line means," Willow explained.  "Red is colour code for anything 50 Gs and over.  Orange for anything between 30 and 50 Gs, Yellow for anything between 10 and 30, Green for anything between normal gravity and 10 Gs, and Blue for normal gravity.  We train in higher gravities to increase our strength along with our speed.  Here, let me reset it."

Willow then pulled a grey tube out of nowhere; at least it looked like that at first, until she held it between her hands and pulled it open so it looked more like a modified PDA.  She did something on the screen and before their eyes the red line quickly went through the color-code until it was shining a pretty baby blue.

"There, all better.  Buffy, Faith, why don't you two begin and I'll play commentary.  Cordy, go to a ring and begin warm up," Willow ordered, and all of them quickly went to comply.

Cordy went over to one of the white rings painted on the metal floor and then did something with the controls and shortly after began a basic stretch warm-up followed by several katas.

Buffy and Faith however, led the rest of the group over to the central area and got up on the center, 7th platform.  Again, Willow pulled out her PDA device and made several changes on it.  Shortly after she did so, the lights on the corner poles activated, and an invisible wall or force field briefly flickered into existence, before it was only the lights.

Before much else was done, both Buffy and Faith gave Willow insulted glares.  "Come on Red!  I thought this was _training_!"

"Yeah Barky, turn on the gravity!  I want a serious workout while showing off today."

"_Barky_?" Chobe repeated what her double called Willow.

Thailog moved quickly and place his hand on his love's shoulder while saying, "I _don't_ think we want to know," he assured her.  She silently admitted he was right through their link.

Willow, for her part, just blushed slightly before making several other changes on the device, and in response the lights changed colour from yellow to solid black, but still cast light.  The two Slayers inside the ring both grinned as their muscles tensed and a light sheen of sweat was already on their bodies.  If nothing else, that convinced both Chobe and Thailog that the two were standing in an overwhelming amount of gravity.

"Ready F?" Buffy asked with a smirk on her face.

Faith mirrored the smirk exactly and replied, "You know it B.  Let's do this!"

Both of them got into fighting poses and a microsecond after that, the ethereal flame energy the Travellers had seen around them the night before flashed into existence.  Both ki flames were tinged gold on the edges around both Slayers, but Buffy's seemed somehow more consistent and vibrant.  Then, as the two continued to just stand there, energy flaming around them, the three newcomers finally noticed what was happening.

Ta'ruk had the worst of it, as it was his symbiote that felt the building energy of the two Slayers, and it became increasingly agitated the more they powered up.  Chobe sensed the power, but only because Thailog felt it first.

When they first started to power up, the Band flashed briefly before a dull glow that only would have allowed it to be seen in the dark, but did not cast light, surrounded it.  Shortly after, Thailog's eyes flashed red as he sensed the building power, and overwhelming feelings of protection assaulted his consciousness.  That his love was suddenly… not frightened, but more… anxiety over the power her alternate and Faith held, ignited his protectiveness even further.

She didn't fight when he suddenly drew her into a protective embrace, and even wrapped his wings around her.  Yet when the Band suddenly let out a brilliant glow that when faded left a spherical shield around them that denied any further description, she became less anxious about her alternate and more so about her beau.

All action in the ring stopped when the Band's shield came into existence.  A brief psychic conference was held among the Slayer Team, taking in everyone's observations and Willow's findings on the Band itself.  Along with Buffy tapping into the emotional state of Thailog and the other Buffy, it wasn't surprising how long it took them to come to the conclusion at what had happened.

"Thailog!" Buffy shouted.

The gargoyle shook his head and came out of the trance he had gone into, and he finally noticed what had happened.  "What…?"

"Thailog!" Buffy cried again, bringing their attention to her.  The shield remained in place.

Once she was sure of their attention, Buffy held up her arm, pointing her cupped palm in their direction.  Just as quickly, a yellow/amber glow filled her hand until it rapidly grew and shot out at the speed of light straight for the couple.  Before they could even react though, the energy blast was rebounded by the force field and then ricochet around the ring a dozen or so more times until it finally hit the ceiling and there was a miniature explosion.

"We couldn't hurt you even if we want to," Buffy assured them.  Then quickly added, "Not that we want to, because we don't!"

Slowly, as Thailog reasoned with his instinctive self, he relaxed, and once he had the shield retracted back to the Band.  "I guess that confirms that it is controlled by my emotions," Thailog observed.

"What was that about anyway?" Chobe asked.

"Buffy and Faith are extremely powerful," Willow explained.  "Their powering up must have triggered something in either the Band or Thailog that instead of triggering whatever happened last night, triggered a defence.  It must have been associated with the feelings of protectiveness he was feeling right at the moment.  I noticed how he pulled you to him just before the shield went up."

"Fascinating," Thailog remarked as he examined the Band once again, briefly letting his scientific nature come to the surface.

"Can we get on with this, or would you two like to wait until patrol tonight to see what we can do?" Faith asked.

"Sorry, just warn us next time or something like that," Chobe remarked back.

"OK, consider this a warning," her counterpart answered, the ki flame returned and intensified, "We're going to get a lot more powerful before we're done.  Just try to control your reactions, because you're perfectly safe."

Once again they got into fighting stances, and continued to power up slowly.  Finally, each settled at the level they preferred to use and began to move.  Slowly they circled the ring, eyes jumping back and forth, studying the way their opponent moved, how fast, which way, and even the way the muscles clenched and released.  Until they were standing in the spot their opponent had been.

Faith made the first move, jumping up and leaping the distance between her and Buffy, over fifteen feet.  Buffy jumped up and met her almost half way, aiming a kick so that Faith's leg would pass under her, and her own foot would strike the Dark Slayer's head.  At least that's how it looked at the first second.  Before that second was even over, Faith twisted mid-air so that her other leg would come up in a roundhouse manoeuvre on Buffy's chin, while at the same time, Buffy was shifting her legs to block Faith's roundhouse and leave her open for several punches.  Faith countered again by suddenly twisting the other way and blocking Buffy's legs in a complex manoeuvre and countering Buffy's punches with some of her own, forcing the both of them to block and twist instead of land any hits.  In the next second, their leaping momentums carried each past the other and the both flipped about so they would land on the platform feet first, and the moment they had, they turned back to the other and just as fast as the initial mid-air assault, started sparring that Chobe could barely keep up, despite all the fighting moves they used familiar to her.

"They're starting off with the basics first, just to warm up," Willow commentated.  "Also so they can get used to the gravity level.  Once that's done, they'll advance in style, and then they'll start really going at each other, no holding back on strength, speed, or anything else."

"They're amazing," the outside Buffy exclaimed.  "I mean they're in high level gravity, and they're fighting at a speed that I would be hard pressed to reach!"

"Didn't you just hear?" Xander asked sounding confused.  "They're only getting started."

Buffy gave him a confused glare, but quickly returned to the sparring session and was almost floored with the amazing conclusion that Xander was right.  It seemed that with every move, attack, defence, block, punch, and kick, each Slayer nearly doubled in speed until not even the third Slayer could follow their movements beyond a black, blonde highlighted blur and a silver, brunette highlighted blur.  Then they started getting fancy as the blurs left the ground on more occasions, and in fact stayed in the air more than they did on the platform.

At least twice each, they ran up the force field like it was just a continuation of the platform, and even ricocheted around like that energy blast Buffy had shot earlier.  Then, before any of them knew it, it was over, and suddenly there were Buffy and Faith, standing where they had begun, breathing heavily, but definitely enjoying themselves.

"Uh, wow," Chobe finally managed to get around the frog in her throat.

"I've never seen anything like it," Thailog agreed.

"I have only heard legends of gods who do battle, and those legends do not even stand a candle flames worth against what I have just seen," Ta'ruk added his sentiment, sounding as awed as the other two.

"How heavy is it in there?" Chobe asked.

Willow tapped another button on her Global, and right in front of them, on the lower half of the platform, large green digital numbers appeared that said 500 g/mm.  "Give or take, that's about 500 G's," Willow answered.

"Give or take?" Thailog repeated.

"About twenty Gs," Xander answered matter-of-factly.

"I've also set it on increment, so about every ten minutes or so it'll shoot up another 50 graviton points," Willow added.

"That… that's unbelievable!" Chobe exclaimed.

"You ain't seen nuthin' yet," Willow said with an unfamiliar evil smirk on her face.

"Ready?" Buffy asked.

"Oh, you know I am B!" Faith replied.

This time they got into exactly the same ready pose, one Buffy didn't really recall from any of her own training.  Their left fists were drawn back to their hips while their right hands were held before them in a guard/chop position, and their legs were in a modified horse stance.  The Slayer in the Child of Oberon, however easily saw the advantages of beginning in this pose, allowing any number of opening moves to be performed with only the slightest hint to your opponent until it was too late.

The gold ki flames flashed into existence again, but there seemed to be something even more solid about them.  Then she began to feel their power rising again, and noticed that Thailog struggled to control himself.  As they watched, the newcomers couldn't help but notice that it looked like the prominent muscles of each Slayer was becoming…bigger, or no, stronger would be the word, because the overall size of each woman never changed, but their muscles became even more defined.

Five seconds after this, they both disappeared in a flash of movement so fast that even Chobe thought they had somehow teleported away.  But there were the sounds to consider.  Sounds of fists, feet, and legs making heavy impacts on hard bodies, or blocked by arms, legs, and feet and fists.  Also, only Buffy's eyes were fast enough to see it, but occasionally she did catch the tiniest glimpse of a blurred hand or leg being blocked by another arm or foot that was just as blurred.

Closing her eyes from the strain and shaking her head for a moment, Chobe looked back up and didn't blink and let her eyes unfocus, taking in everything at once without focusing down on one thing.  Slowly, just glimpses as before, but slowly she began to see the fight as it happened.

Buffy and Faith were moving with unparalleled speed and accuracy, and they were not on the platform.  Hovering mid-air, they fought, their arms, legs, heads, and whole bodies moving so fast that even now she couldn't keep up with how fast they were going.  Optical illusions reigned as a hundred fists flew at Faith's head, countered with a thousand kicking feet and legs knocked Buffy backwards.

No taunts, jibes, jokes, or insults were traded, only focusing on the fight and nothing else, and the sounds of battle.  And all through it, the fast-moves, the blurring to the eye, the illusionary attacks, the gold ki flames stayed around both Slayers, keeping up with them better than the observers' eyes could.

Then it finally broke away from 'demonstration' to 'Training'.

Now they could be seen, but it seemed that every single one of their hits, just hit each other.  When their fists knocked against each other, along the edges the force field lit up, as though the force of the hit was enough to press heavily against it.  Same for their kicks and every other hit they attacked each other with.

Willow, on the sidelines with everyone else, gulped silently and began to look just a slight bit nervous, occasionally shifting her attention from Buffy and Faith, to the platform itself.  Finally Willow's distraction became too distracting for Chobe that even Thailog felt it through their connection.

"Is something the matter?" he asked Willow quietly, so that only he, Willow, and Chobe would hear him and Willow's answer.

"Well…" Willow looked nervous still, but not worried.  "We haven't exactly given it a full test.  We've only had this place for about a week or so!  We used to test out in the open and I created an adaptive mystical barrier to hold in the worst of our training.  The force fields around them right now… aren't quite as good."

Now the two of them were nervous as well.

The movements became faster and faster, too fast that anyone could easily follow, except with where the two fighters were at the moment.  On several occasions both Faith and Buffy were knocked into the force field, creating a brief impression inside the flicker of its existence, although Faith was pressed against the energy barrier at least three more times than Buffy was.

Faith knocked Buffy back from her, and both fighters took a brief rest, standing across from each other on the platform, breathing heavily, still in ready positions.  Buffy was ready before Faith was and made it known by suddenly leaping forward at the Dark Slayer.

Faith seemed to panic as her eyes went wide and she shot both fists forward, bright yellow energy blasts shooting out of them, one glancing the surprised Gold Slayer, the other exploding fully against her torso.  She "landed" flat against the force field, six feet above the platform.

Buffy shook her head and grinned savagely.  There was no way around it; it was a savage grin, and none more than Chobe was surprised to see it on her face.  She jumped down from the field and landed with a solid sounding thud.  The gravity now read at 650 g/mm, and just before Buffy spoke, it rose another fifty units.

"So," she said, acting as though she were dusting herself off, "you wanna play with energy?  That's just fine by me."  She launched into the air, actually flying against the ground and before Faith had a chance of retaliation or defence, the Gold Slayer landed a fierce attack combo that almost too easily knocked the Dark Slayer, upside down, in the exact same position that Buffy had been pushed into.

She wasn't done yet, as before Faith even opened her eyes, Gold Slayer got into a completely unfamiliar battle stance, to Chobe and Thailog anyway.  Her hands were cupped down by her right hip, and her body twisted to compensate for both hands being there, but she was facing Faith.

"Kamehameha!" she chanted/shouted, and before any knew it, or could do anything about it, an intense blue/white beam of pure energy shot out of Buffy's cupped hands, which she had brought forward to point directly at Faith.

Just before the energy would have hit, and no doubt obliterated her, Faith's eyes snapped open and moving faster than any of the visitors had ever seen before, she dodged out of the way of the beam, so that it directly hit the force field, instead of her.

Three seconds after it did hit, there was an explosion of such magnitude, or maybe intensity, that everyone was left temporarily blinded and deaf.  After that faded, the klaxons and flashing red lights started.

"OK, what the hell is THAT?!" Cordy exclaimed from her place in the gym.

"That's the emergency warning of a force field breech," Willow shouted over the klaxon.  She raised her Global and quickly deactivated the gravity and the force field on the platform.  The alarms quit soon after that.

"BUFFY ANN SUMMERS!!"

The shout was like the crack of a gunshot, and had just as much, if not more, effect on Buffy.  She was cringing, and still slightly trembling, standing where she had shot the beam at Faith.  Faith meanwhile was now outside the platform, somewhere behind Xander, but still breathing hard from the workout.

It was Willow's voice that had shouted though, and the newcomers actually dared to look at her face.  Chobe had never, _never_ ever seen that look on her Willow's face.  It was not even something that she could have ever _imagined_ seeing on _any_ Willow's face, even an evil vampy version.  Not hate, hate she could imagine, although directed at some uber-demony foe, and anger was too shallow for this look.  This look would have made Thailog, the evil one, cringe back and whimper in fear.

Buffy gulped and managed to get out, "Oops," before wincing again as Willow started her tirade.

"OOPS!!  OOPS?!!  You think this is deserving of an _OOPS_?" Willow shouted, her face becoming even more set with hard-edged lines.

"Blowing up the High School along with the Mayor is an oops, missing the bad guy and blowing off Spike's head, who was behind him, is an oops.  Cutting off your own arm with a butter knife is an oops!  I told you before Buffy, I warned you, I even made it an unofficial rule.  DO! NOT! USE! ENERGY! **ATTACKS! IN! THE! _GYM!!!!_**"  Willow's voice became so loud that each syllable sounded like a giant had shouted it.

Not even her counterpart could blame Buffy for still trembling.  In fact, said counterpart was trembling a little herself.  And not from laughter.

"Well Faith started it," Buffy tried to deflect some wrath away from her.

"And I would be chewing her out right now instead of you, _if you hadn't progressed the situation!!_!!" Willow pointed out.

"Well… if she hadn't dodged, I wouldn't have hit the force field and then…" Buffy tried to excuse.

"Oh, yeah, remind me to feel sorry about that later!" Faith sarcastically snipped back.  Buffy glared at her, but Willow's quickly cowed her.

"Buffy, I don't care about the force field… much.  That can be repaired.  What I care about is that not only did you push the envelope where it had no need or reason to be pushed, but also you did it in a way that you knew I would disapprove of, and in direct violation of the rules that we all agreed to follow.  I'm not your master Buffy, but when we come up with rules to govern ourselves, I expect all of us to follow them.  Just because you are our leader does not put you above them, in fact they exist at all because of you.  Now go upstairs and meditate."

"But I thought you said…"

"Until one o'clock.  No breaks."

Buffy blinked.  Then she slouched and nodded and jumped down from the platform.

"Ooo!  Somebody's in the dog house!" Faith crowed.  Willow turned the glare she'd had on Buffy on Faith.  Faith instantly gulped and back-pedalled several paces.  "Uh, ya know what, why don't I just go on out to the dog house right now and tidy it up for the two of us, huh B?"

Just before she would have stepped inside the semi-circle in front of the house door, Buffy seemed to undergo a sudden and totally unexpected change.  "Faith, you and Xander start working on basic forms.  After that, try and build up your energy levels.  Willow, if they want it, drill them in the basics, and help Cordy with her Tae Kwan do.  Her forms still need a lot of work."  That said she walked into the house.  What surprised the visitors the most though was that all present nodded their agreement, their confidence in their "leader" completely unshaken and shining in their eyes.

_'They truly believe in her, even after seeing her in such a vulnerable position and so easily undermined, they still obey all of her orders.'_ Thailog observed privately with his love.  She had no reply.

The remaining Buffy sat back, watching her friend's counterparts train. There were definite differences. Faith and Xander seemed more intense, while Willow just seemed more… well, Willowy. Cordelia… what could she say about that?

She looked up at Thailog, still holding her protectively. What had just happened, whatever it was, confirmed their suspicions that the Band was more than just a piece of jewellery. There was a power, almost another presence to it. She just hoped this 'presence' had no permanent effect on Thailog. If it did, she'd be dumping it in the nearest black hole.

"I doubt that will be necessary," Thailog said, picking up on her thoughts.

"You won't mind if I keep it as an option, will you?" Buffy asked.

"I doubt the Asgard would have told you about the Band if there was any danger," Ta'ruk said. Buffy sighed.

"Guess your right," she admitted. "I still don't like the idea that there's something in that Band that can take over your body."

"If it tries again, it will not take hold so easily," Thailog said flatly.

"Yo, Big T, wanna join us?" Faith asked from another, undamaged platform.

"I am not sure…" Thailog began.

"C'mon, Thailog," Xander said with a grin. "We'll take it easy on you."

"No way," Buffy said, an edge in her voice. "You guys 'taking it easy' would probably send him into orbit. Let's wait at least until we have some idea what the Band is capable of, or when Thailog has better control of it." The two nodded shortly and returned to their training.

"Nicely handled," Willow said, coming over to them. Buffy shrugged.

"Actually, their reaction was probably automatic," she admitted. "They're so used to taking orders from your wife, and that's still a bit weird by the way, that all I had to do was make it sound that way." Willow smiled slightly.

"Not bad," she said. "Although after what happened today, Buffy will want to Train him anyway." Her eyes hovered over the Band. "There is way too much power for him to just rely on it when he needs it, and I'm not sure the power came entirely from the Band anyway. There is something else about it, though. Do you know anything else about it?"

"Just that it is not complete," Thailog said. "The digital Gargoyle that met us in the Band's resting place merely told us that it is a weapon of great power designed to combat some great Enemy. Other than that, we know nothing."

"Coincidently, that's the same place we found the truth about the Slayers," Buffy added sourly without thinking.

"What?" Willow asked suddenly. All movement ceased at her words.

"Oops," Buffy muttered. "Mouth in gear, brain neutral. Not good."

"Whaddya mean 'truth about the Slayers'?" Faith demanded. Buffy took a breath.

"Can we wait until the other Buffy's finished with her meditation?" she asked. "I think this is something she should hear too." Faith glared at her.

"Uh-uh, you ain't getting out of it that easily," Faith said. "Willow can pass the story along later. I want answers now."

"Nice to see something's don't change," Buffy muttered. "Okay, you want to know what I meant? Fine, but you better sit down. As strange as my story's been so far, this is really going to knock your socks off." Faith and the others remained standing. "Okay, you asked for it." She turned to Willow for a moment. "Wills, what do you know about the Gatebuilders?"

"They're the ones that built the Stargates," Willow said after a moment of thought. "They were embroiled in some war for a while before ascending to a higher plane of existence."

"You're thinking of the Ancients," Buffy said. "The leaders and architects of the Gate system. The Gatebuilders were made up of a few different races like the human race is. Think of everything you've heard about in myths, from Gargoyles to Dragons. They were the Gatebuilders." Willow's mind started going a thousand miles a minute. "Near the end of this war, they created the Band. Don't ask me why they didn't use it, but for whatever reason, they left it on the planet where we found it and ran, each to different realties, possibly using the same Gateway we are."

"What's this got to do with the Slayers?" Faith demanded.

"I'm getting to that," Buffy snapped. "Anyway, when they left, they took members of the elite guards that protected not only the Gatebuilders, but all of the Alliance of the Four Races. The Slayers." A stunned silence filled the gym. "We found out that there's not one, but many Slayers at one time. That's how Kendra and Faith were 'called' after I died against the Master. In my world anyway. There's one in particular chosen to protect leaders or VIPs, but other than that…"

"This can't be," Faith muttered, clenching her fist. "This can't be real."

"I tried to warn you," Buffy said apologetically. "Anyway, each Slayer's supposed to have a Guardian, a member of the Gatebuilders that guides and protects them, offering not only information, but physical and emotional support when things get to tough. Thailog's mine."

"Why?" Faith demanded; the others too stunned to speak.

"I don't know," Buffy said. "But when I get back, I'm finding out." There was a momentary silence.

"Alright, Faith, Xander, back to it," Willow ordered. "You too, Cordelia. Thailog, you can watch the other two, get an idea of what's happening. Buffy, we need to talk." Thailog looked down at his love.

"I'll be fine," she told him. "This is Willow. She won't hurt me." Thailog nodded, letting her get up. "What are we talking about?" she asked. Willow smiled.

"Thailog's not the only one that needs training."

_Willow's Workroom_

"Believe it or not Buffy, the prophecy that we told you last night about our Buffy being either one of or _the_ most powerful Slayer slash Buffy all across the omniverse, is true.  I've found more than enough evidence, in both ancient scrolls of prophecy, and actuality.  Only about a cool three-dozen other versions of you, that we've been able to identify, can use ki, the full power of their life force.  Only about four have done what Buffy and Faith have done here."

"What's that?" Buffy asked as she sat across from her best friend's double on a stool.

"The ability to reach the next level of a Slayer's power.  Nobody, not even a multitude of gods we know, nobody knows the _origins_ of all Slayers.  Some claim its evolution; some gods have even poorly claimed to be the source of a Slayer's, all Slayers powers.  In some realities I've heard about, Slayers are actually part demon, but that has more to do with that version of humanity than a Slayer herself," Willow answered, sitting on her own stool.

"What next level of power?  I've never heard of that," the Child of Oberon stated, confused.

"Probably because, as I said, it is _extremely_ rare for a Slayer to reach that level of power and control.  We call it the Super Slayer.  I've developed a sort of theory.  Whatever created the omniverse, created evil along with good and set up a balance.  When that balance was disrupted, Slayers came about to even the score for the side of good.  Probably at first, Slayers were just tools or a temporary empowerment.  But I think it's moved beyond that now, and what you've just told me only goes to confirm my theory."

"What theory?"

"That Slayers are no longer 'Chosen Ones' or singular mystically enhanced champions of good.  That Slayers have become their own race.  They are as much a people as Fairies, Dragons… Gargoyles.  And as any race does after time, they evolve.  Ordinary Slayers, as ironic as those two words are put together, are meant to take out Earth-bound demons, like vampires and other not entirely Full-demon demons.  Once a Slayer reaches what we measure on a private scale, over a power level of 100, they can ascend to the level of Super Slayer… which I think is meant to, like normal Slayers are meant to take on earth demons, take on Full demons and even First and Second Circle demons and maybe a demon god or two."

Buffy blinked at this revelation, but she was still confused.  "But… then why can't more Slayers do that?  And if any Slayer has the potential of this Super Slayer thing, why have Guardians like Thailog?"

Willow looked like she was about to shrug, but then her eyes narrowed in that way that told Buffy she was thinking on something that had just caused a brainstorm in her mind.  "Maybe… maybe the Slayers have been a race a lot longer than either of us are thinking.  What if, instead of a league of bodyguards, the Slayers were another race of the Gatebuilders?  And they filled their role like Gargoyles and the others filled their positions?  This whole Guardian thing could be a political thing, like Watchers are supposed to guide and train Slayers.  And you know how well that's turning out."

"Thailog would never…"

"Whoa!" Willow held up her hands to stall Buffy's temper.  "I never said that the Guardians of the Gatebuilders should be compared to the Watchers in actions, just as a general conceptual comparison.  For all we know the Guardians _are_ better for Slayers than the Watchers could ever be."

Buffy calmed down, but her interest in this discussion was over.  "All right, you alluded to some kind of training.  I'm going to assume that you meant magic training since you claim to be even more powerful than my father."

Willow frowned a bit, but acknowledged the change of subject.  "Well, I may not be more _powerful_ than your father, but I know at least one of my Teachers definitely is.  Since that teacher happens to be the God of magic across about oh…50,000 realms.  His name is Marduk, and I know the most powerful magicks that he can teach anyone.  As well as about everything else of magic that he can teach, and about half of what he _can't_ teach to just anyone.  So while I may not have the power, my skill with magic certainly outdoes even the King of all Fairies."

Buffy blinked.  She hadn't expected that.  Whatever royal pride she had left was now officially royally flushed down the drain.  "So what can _you_ teach _me_?" she finally asked.

Willow smiled brightly.  "I'm so glad you asked that question," she said uber-cheerfully, so that she sounded, if at all possible, even more chipper than her Willow at a computer conference hyped up on mochas.

The lessons began.

_Training Gym_

"How do you do that?" Thailog could no longer contain his curiosity at the spectacle before him and Ta'ruk.  Cordy was off along the "fence" of strengthening machines, using them to their maximum potential before one finally broke, forcing her to move onto the next one.  Now he understood why they had about 1000 of the things.

What Thailog was asking about however, was Xander and Faith's ki flames as they stood, and tried to keep standing in ever increasing gravity.  Xander was surrounded by a royal red flame, while Faith the same solid gold she'd had when facing their Buffy.

"Well…" Xander grunted, "it's… really… complicated…"

"Yeah," Faith agreed, in a little better shape than Xander was, "This sure as hell… ain't as easy as… we're makin' it look…"

"I have no doubt of its difficulty, I was just curious as to why your auras were a different colour, and what significance they have," Thailog explained politely.

"He sure ain't the other guy, is he?" Faith cracked to Xander, causing the dark-haired man to chuckle.

"I noticed that last night," Xander said as he did something to make the red flame around him flare up brighter and stronger, and amazingly enough the same seemed to happen to Xander and he stood a little straighter.  "He's not a Goliath clone…well, okay he is, but he's darker than that…okay, again, he is, but I meant in his attitude.  Goliath has an eternal optimism.  You, on the other hand Thailog, seem to have Dead boy's sense of "Life ain't perfect, but I gotta live through it anyway".  Least you don't brood, then I'd seriously have to kick your…butt…" Xander groaned as the gravity increased again and both he and Faith were struggling equally now.

"I'm not sure whether that was a compliment, or a very stupid insult," Thailog confessed to Ta'ruk.  Ta'ruk just arched an eyebrow.

_Willow's Workroom_

"So, why are we doing this?" Buffy asked from the lotus position.

"It's a focusing exercise." Willow explained. "You'll be able to use these to focus your powers to points you never knew you were capable of. Eventually, you won't even have to meditate to do it."

"Cool." Buffy said.

"Yeah, I thought so." Willow agreed. "Now, no more talking. Meditate." Buffy complied, closing her eyes and focusing within as Willow had taught her.

She dived inwards until she faced the glowing ball of blue that represented her power. Deep in the centre of the ball, there was a darker spot, blood red. The Slayer, she realized. She leaned closer, touching the ball tentatively. The blue light flowed through her, enveloping her in warmth and power. She filled herself to the brink then, and just when she thought she could take no more, the Slayer joined in.

In the real world, the look on Buffy's face was on of pure ecstasy.

Willow just looked at her, wondering what exactly was going on in there. The Powermage wondered if she should pull her out, then decided against it. She needed to go all the way, to find her limits, and then find a way to surpass them, and control them. Willow just hoped she was all right.

The power that filled her was way more than she could have handled normally, yet the power continued to fill her, almost drowning her.  She tried to think past the power, the pleasure, the pure Life that filled her. As she did so, an image came to her.

Thailog, training with Xander and Faith. The two warriors were running him through the basics of what they could teach him. Buffy watched with interest as Xander changed the direction of his strike, moving towards Thailog. Buffy glared, flexing her magic muscle, teleporting Xander across the gym before his fist could connect with her beloved. She grinned, pleased, as Xander looked around, trying to figure out what was going on.

Willow's eyes snapped towards her newest student and hardened when she felt the spark of magic leave from the half-fey to the gym below.

_"That's enough, Buffy,"_ she heard Willow magically say. _"Time to come back."_

Buffy pouted. She didn't want to. She wanted to watch Thailog. _"Now, or I pull you back. And I promise you, that will _not _be pleasant."_

_"But…"_

_"Now!"_ Buffy pouted, returning to her body.

Buffy's eyes flew opened to see a rather ticked Willow glaring at her. "What did you think you were doing?" she demanded. Buffy shrugged.

"I just wanted to check in on him," she muttered glumly. "'Sides, Xander was about to hit him. What was I supposed to do?" Willow let out an exasperated breath.

"He wouldn't have hurt him, Buffy," Willow said assuringly.

"Just making sure," Buffy said, adding in her head '_like he could'_.

"I understand," Willow said. "More than you realize. If anything were to happen to my Buffy, I'd probably lose it myself. But you have to remember that we're all friends and we're just trying to help you, all of you."

"Yeah, I guess," Buffy muttered. Inside, she vowed she'd make sure. She remembered Thailog's first use of the Stargate, how he had almost lost his sense of self within the system. No one realized just how close she had come to losing him.

Willow looked at her knowingly. "I think you should let go of the power now, Buffy," she said. Buffy looked up at her, only realizing herself that she still held it.

"Right," she said, hesitantly letting it slide from her 'grasp'. Her eyes went wide as both realization and exhaustion struck her. "I shouldn't have been able to affect the gym like that," she muttered tiredly. "This room is too full of conflicting magics and talismans. It should have made it impossible for me to reach out like that without some other side effects. So how'd I do it?" Willow nodded, impressed that she'd realized.

"I'm not really sure," she had to admit. "Tell me, did you draw upon anything else with your natural magic?"

"The Slayer," Buffy muttered. "It was floating in the centre of my Fey magic. When I drew on that, the Slayer flowed in as well."

"Curiouser and curiouser," Willow muttered. The Slayer spirit itself should have been unable to affect Buffy's natural magic. Unless… "I'm going to have to look into this. While I am…" She walked over to one of the bookshelves, pulling out a couple rather thick times and dropped them in front of Buffy. "These are some of the books I have on magic that's compatible to your own. I want you to read through them, memorize as much as possible. If your going out there, you should at least be somewhat prepared." Buffy picked up the first tome.

"'Magicks of the House of Thom'" she read. "Who?"

"Read it and find out," Willow said with a smile, walking over to another shelf. Buffy looked back down at the book.

"And I thought my school days were over," she muttered, opening to the first page.

_Training Gym_

"Are we sure this is all right?" Thailog asked as Faith and Xander dragged him up to the training platform.

"Well, there is a rule against teaching someone from our universe these advanced techniques," Xander admitted. "But since your travelling across the Multiverse, you're not from here and, technically, have no home universe where that rule applies. So, you're exempt."

"We think," Faith said. "'Sides, B would've found a way to train you anyways, so we just pushed it ahead." Thailog sighed.

"Very well," he rumbled. He looked over at Ta'ruk, who was moving to one of the other platforms.

"If it is alright, I would like to train in my own fashion," the Jaffa asked. Xander shrugged.

"Go ahead," he said. "I'm kinda interested in what you do anyway. Y'know, the more ways to kick ass, the better." Ta'ruk looked at him strangely before moving to the platform, the ever-present staff weapon at his side. "What's with that thing, anyway?" Xander asked.

"It is more than it appears," Thailog answered, as Ta'ruk stood stock-still at the middle of the platform. "There is an energy weapon of some kind hidden within."

"Cool," Faith said as Ta'ruk began to move.

His movements were slow at first, his staff used like that of an earth-bound master. This soon changed as he picked up the tempo and, before long, the staff was swinging above his head quickly as he moved, his feet striking out in both high kicks and sweeps.

"Whoa," Xander stated. "I didn't think he could move like that."

"Nor did I," Thailog admitted. "This is the first time I have witnessed his style of fighting. It is most impressive."

"No shit," Faith muttered, watching the staff swing in circles above his head. "I gotta learn how to do that."

"Learn new stuff later," Xander said. "Teach now." They began to move Thailog through some basic techniques, slowly at first, then quicker. To his credit, Thailog didn't complain, he merely increased his own speed in an attempt to keep up. Nor did he complain at the slight increase in gravity to 5 Gs. Indeed, the Band that now seemed more a part of him than his own wings seemed to compensate for the sudden weight. Everything moved along well, until Xander made an error by attacking Thailog directly rather than feinting.

In Warrior X's defence, it was automatic. Mostly. He turned toward Thailog, aiming to strike, then suddenly found himself one the other side of the gym. All nearby stopped and looked over at him.

"I didn't do it!" Xander said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Then what happened?" Faith asked.

"Are you alright?" Cordelia asked, moving quickly over to him. Thailog looked around, a small smile on his face.

"Buffy," he said.

"What?" Cordelia looked around quickly. "Where?"

"She was here," Thailog said. "I felt her, and yet, she was elsewhere at the same time."

"Looks like Red's training has started," Faith said. "I'm guessin' she didn't like that move, Xand."

"I'll make a note of that," Xander said flatly, moving back to the platform. "How'd you 'feel' her anyway?"

"Before our journey started, she cast a spell that bound us together," Thailog explained. "We can hear each other's thoughts and know, almost instinctively, where the other is. It also gives me access to her healing powers and immortality."

"Sounds like what B and Red have going," Faith commented. "'Cept theirs is no spell. Gotta admit, sounds handy though."

"It is at times," Thailog said. "I always know when she is in trouble.  Come, let us continue. I am eager to see what comes next." Xander gave a grin at that comment.

"You ain't seen nothing yet, grape ape," he said. "Believe me."

_Summers' back yard_

_Dusk_

Buffy and Thailog were sitting together on the roof of their temporary home, for as long as they were in this dimension, staring with awe and respectful admiration as the sun set for the day.  For months Buffy had dreamed of doing this very thing.  And now here they were.  Despite the aches and pains from the many lessons learned today, she was happy and content with the way of the world.  And because she was, so was Thailog.

"Some day, huh?" Buffy said into the stillness, enjoying Thailog's arms around her.

The dark gargoyle groaned, but sent assurances and contentment and love through their link to squash the flash of concern in his love.  "I agree.  It's been some day.  They never hurt me you know.  It was the gravity that did the worst of it, and an hour in the sun healed me up nicely."

"And they say sunbathing is bad for you," she joked.  They shared in their laughter.

"How were your lessons?" he asked after the silence had returned.

She was silent for a moment, deciding on the best way to answer before she finally answered, "Informative.  If school were half as interesting as Willow makes magic lessons, I'd probably have been Valedictorian.  With Dad, it was all about survival and making the two of you proud of me.  With her… it's learning how to do something I'm good at, but just for me.  Sure, the survival thing is thrown in as prompting, but she's a good teacher too.  She's patient, kind, explains things so that I really understand, and lets me figure things out on my own without getting frustrated.  Plus she gives me candies when I do good."

Thailog couldn't help it, he laughed, causing her to laugh right along with until the silence resettled comfortably.

"How'd Ta'ruk do?"

"Considering that he kept up with us, as far as the gravity was concerned, and completed his own training with his style of fighting and martial arts, he did very well.  Faith was somewhat drawn to him.  Although not for those reasons," he remarked about the thoughts flickering through her head.  "She wanted to learn his style of fighting and by the end of the afternoon, he announced that she had already mastered every basic form of it that there was, and half of the advanced forms.  She claimed it as being part of the Slayer, learns fighting techniques faster."

"Well that's certainly true.  I only trained with Merrick for a month and I was already kicking vamp ass."

"Funny, I only needed about a week and a half to learn everything he had to teach me," a voice said from just the other side of the roof.  The sole occupants turned to see the Gold Slayer hovering mid-air, just off of the roof, staring at them.  She was dressed as she had been last night when they had first seen her, although minus the katana.

"Can we talk?  I really think we need to," Buffy asked her counterpart.  And although she didn't say it, all of them knew she meant privately between Buffys.

_'Anything she has to say can be said in front of you,'_ Buffy resolutely told her man.

He leaned down and gave her a full kiss.  "It's all right.  You two _do_ need to talk.  There will be many more sunsets my love.  I'll be nearby."  He kissed her once more before they finally untangled themselves from one another and the dark purple gargoyle glided down from the roof, leaving one Buffy sitting on the edge of it, and another hovering inches away from that same edge.

Finally GS, as Chobe found herself starting to think of her counterpart, floated over so that she was beside her, though on the side opposite of where Thailog had been.

"I did not mean to spoil anything for you two.  I'm sorry if I did, but what we have to talk about can't wait much longer, and I wanted to clear the air before patrol," GS-Buffy said.

"No, it's all right.  And he's right, there will be other sunsets.  Many more.  It's just this is the first… and it wouldn't even be possible if not for you people…"

"I… we don't want your loyalty for services rendered or anything like that Buffy," GS snapped.  "We're the good guys.  Yeah, we may seem like we compromise and follow other people's rules and appear all-powerful and maybe even act a little weird some of the time.  But we don't take advantage of people.  And never will if I have anything to say about it."

There was a brief uncomfortable silence.

"So… what is it that couldn't wait till after supper?" Chobe asked.

GS looked off toward the horizon for a minute before answering.  "I've met… doubles, of myself, at least four times, besides right now.  One actually was more like a dream-vision 'get the hell up and finish the fight' deal… uh, long story, you don't want to hear it.  But… the three times that I've met… myself, I've noticed things.  Specific things.  Some are exactly the same, while others are completely different."

"Ya think?" Chobe sarcastically snapped, knowing she was talking about universal alternates.

"And then there are the things that are exactly the same between us, but I just never saw it before in myself until I was looking at the mirror image." GS finished sourly.

Chobe looked at her, not quite feeling amused, but sure that this was a joke of some kind at her expense.  "And what did you see when you looked at me?" she asked, mimicking the other's tone exactly.

"Potential.  To learn what I've learned.  To be better than what we would miss if it wasn't shoved under our noses."  Chobe hadn't expected that for an answer.

"You're just now learning what I found out when we went to the Compound for Training.  We aren't perfect.  We aren't all that.  You aren't perfect, I'm not perfect…  And the only people that say otherwise about us, you and me, being perfect… is you and me."

The half-fey blinked in shock, trying to figure out what was going on here.  Meanwhile GS continued.

"The first clear memory I have, other than emotions, is of Dad, human or otherwise, playing with me at a park.  He was tossing me in the air and he always caught me.  He told me that I could be anything I wanted to be, that I was his perfect angel, and as long as I believed, I could do absolutely anything.  I was maybe 2 at the time, and I got it kind of screwed up and thought that he meant that as long as I believed I was perfect, everyone will let me do anything that I wanted to."

Chobe blinked in surprise and shock.  She had the same memory, and she now had an inkling where this was going.

"Is it any surprise that by the time of my freshman year in High School I was the Queen B of Hemery High?  I could've out-Cordy'd _your_ Cordelia without even trying back then.  What about you?" GS turned to face her mirror image.

Chobe blushed, remembering exactly how she had been.  "Yeah, we were total bitches back then.  What's your point?"

"We still are total bitches.  Only difference is we're in different crowds now."

"I am nothing like I was back then!" Chobe angrily shot back.

"Don't be too sure of that.  I mean, I'm a superhero now.  You're a Princess and a prophecy, what with you being Thailog's companion and all and him being the bearer of a weapon meant to save all of yours and his people.  We're both Slayers, but think about it.  How much have we really changed?  How much have you changed?"

"Why are you making this all about me?!"

"Because I know how and how much I've changed.  I've gone insane, I'm a lesbian, and I've killed myself at least a half dozen times saving the world.  Immortal now, remember?"

"I've changed a lot!  I know who my father _really_ is for starters!" Chobe argued.

"So that makes you Daddy's little girl where I'm Momma's little girl.  Sorry to disappoint, but we're sisters only as far as our Slayer status.  My father is fully human, we've checked, and he's also freely dating.  But think about the rest of it.  After we got out of that institution, we did everything, _everything_ in our power to make what we had learned and become from Merrick behind us or so that it never existed."

Chobe winced, but not at the mention of her dead first Watcher as some might've thought.  "You… went through that?" she asked quietly.

"Brides of Rakagore and all," GS confirmed.  "But you see what I mean?  I did it to.  I know what you went through, better than anyone else could know.  I know how scared you were, still are about some of it.  Dying may not be a factor in it, but other people knowing about what you consider your deepest darkest secret probably still is.  Am I wrong?"

"You don't know anything!"

"I know a lot more than you do.  Look, just… listen for a bit.  Stop me if I'm so off base that I'm talking about the bitch in a coma instead of you." GS adjusted her seating so she was facing her counterpart now.  "You're scared witless just about every moment that you're awake.  You can't explain it, but it has you always on edge.  The only thing that saves you from being a total nutcase all of the time is putting on the dumb blonde act that made you top dog of your Freshman class, and also include the 'top bitch' attitude to back it up.  This makes you shy and a bit clueless whenever around Giles or Willow, because one is your Watcher and the other is the type of person that made you nervous when you were still Queen B.  A beautiful, smart, and fascinating, but introverted person that if they had a bit of courage they could be even more popular than you ever could be.  The 'top bitch' attitude comes whenever somebody takes your steam away, or tries to move in on your territory, and that has as much to do with covering up inadequacies as it does that you never liked to share because you're an only child.  This makes you confrontational, and any time someone questions you, whether it be Giles, Xander, Angel, or even another Slayer, you have to push back harder to stay on top, even if they didn't push at all.  How am I doing so far?"

She was silent.

"You can't hide your fear all the time, and you learned a while ago that sometimes its okay.  Especially when it's personal to you.  Irrational fear gets left behind a mask, but the fear of losing something or someone gets magnified to panic proportions and to anyone who will listen you'll preach about your fears.  This also makes it very hard for other people to come to you, so a while ago you probably started wondering why people never came to you with their problems.  But you had also gotten used to everyone dealing with yours that you always interrupted them with your latest crisis when they just needed somebody to listen.  The only time you did listen was when things were perfect, for you."

Silence.

"Now we're going to talk about me for a little bit here, see if you can learn something from my experiences," GS changed her position again, but this time so she was fully facing her other.

"Two weeks after Spike came to town and established himself as the latest Big Bad, I'm patrolling, with my two best friends, one of whom is studying magic, the other I think still has a crush on me, but I know Willow has a crush on him so I maintain best friend status and nothing more.  For about a year I'd been dealing with the weirdest emotions, all directed for Willow; protectiveness, irrational fear, and privately… longing.

"I mean there was the Angel crush, but that was just because he was a total babe and everything everyone told me I couldn't have, so I wanted it.  But that night, we, Xander, Willow and I, we're ambushed by like a half dozen vamps.  Spike's doing.  I take out the most, but Xander handles his own by taking out three.  Willow takes out the last by casting a fireball spell that instantly drains her.  The irrational fear goes to full out panic and I switch to full protection mode based on Willow.  Before I can do anything about it though, we hear and go find the Powers That Be watching the little fight between the uber-vamp and blue alien.  Then before we know it, and we're all being offered immortality by two little kids that we're told are the either fourth or fifth most powerful beings in all of existence.

"I doubt you could imagine what I was feeling at that moment of crunch time.  I couldn't even tell you now what all went through my head as I decided.  Most of it was lingering effects of seeing Willow crumple to the ground like a puppet with the strings cut.  The rest of it was being told that my Mother would die or be killed if I didn't find a way to protect her."

"So you said yes, that's obvious," Chobe interrupted.

"Have you been to hell yet?" GS asked at that.

She startled, not quite sure how to reply, but she let her 'bitch attitude' answer instead, "No.  But then I'm not a masochist, so I really don't see what your point is."

"What's your definition of hell?"

Chobe stared at her, uncertain if this was a joke or something else.  "Pain.  Suffering.  Eternal torment."

"Think about those words.  What would each mean to you personally?"

She blinked, and swallowed hard on a suddenly sandpaper dry throat.  "Pain… I can imagine pain.  Suffering… what I was going through after I killed Angel…  What I would have gone through if I lost Thailog.  Eternal torment… what all my vampire doubles went through."

GS nodded, seemingly satisfied with that.  "How about being told that in order to stay alive you have to kill hundreds if not thousands of other creatures, both demon, alien, and human, on a regular basis, and during that, you have to watch your friends, your closest friends who are as much your family as your mother and father, suffer their own pains and be dragged into the existence you once tried to make never exist.  And then it's added to it by being told that you are the one in charge of them.  You're their leader.  It all comes back to you.  Any of them fail, you fail.  You fail, they die.  And for an unknown amount of time you have to suffer through tortures that make you, a Slayer, fall to the floor, crying and privately begging for it to end because you can't stand the pain anymore, every night of that unknown time.  And you aren't the only one in that predicament.  Each of your friends are going through the exact same thing you are and are in the same way every night that you are, and not only can you _not_ do anything to relieve their burdens, but they're burdened _because of you_.  What does that sound like?"

Chobe blinked in surprise as she noticed tears on her cheeks.  She had been so caught up in the brief tirade that she hadn't known she had been crying from the beginning of it.  "Like hell."

GS gave out a short, silent bark of laughter that sounded more like a soft cough.  "That's life for me."

"Life for some, is hell for others, and vice versa.  Same goes for heaven.  Your Xander's hell of being stuck with Cordelia is our Xander's heaven.  But I've missed my point somewhere in there."

"Yeah you did, 'cause I know I missed it," Chobe remarked.

"Well, in either case, you know what things are like for me.  You know some of what I've been through.  I'm sure even subconsciously you've already made allowances for me being short with you guys."

"Yeah, what was up with that?  I mean strive to keep normalcy aside, you've been like Sergeant Savage since the moment Thailog and I met you," Chobe asked.

GS shrugged.  "It's not a subconscious territorial thing, I can assure you.  It has more to do with what you are than anything you've done.  You come from a universe where several vampire versions of us tried to destroy the world at least twice over.  Also, Cordelia betrayed the group, Xander is no longer human and is even further away from you than I would have _ever_ let him get, and "Dad" is Oberon.  If you ever actually watch "A Midsummer's Night Dream" you'll understand why the concept of the King of Fairies as my father would disconcert me just a little."

Chobe couldn't help it, she had to laugh.  "I'm going to have to see if Willow can teach me how to give a certain writer certain ailments some time soon."  GS joined her in her laughter.

"If you wanna blame anyone, according to Wills and the grape vine, blame Robin Goodfellow.  He was the one that told Shakespeare the whole story.  No clue where the sprite is though.  He disappeared off the map about a year ago according to Wills."

"Wait… Robin Goodfellow… isn't that Puck?  Puck didn't tell Shakespeare anything!" Chobe protested.

GS shook her head.  "One of the reasons Goodfellow will be on your side in cursing that certain English playwright.  Shakespeare got Goodfellow, who is _not_ Puck, confused with your little helper.  And if you ever mention Puck to Goodfellow, make sure to avoid calling Puck your friend or anything more than a big annoyance.  He's had a grudge against Puck ever since the play was first performed."

"Oh.  You sure do know a lot about the Fairy world," Chobe commented.  GS shrugged.

"Again we get off my point," GS complained.  "Part of this was so that you could understand me a little bit better.  I'm not you, you're not me.  We've lead completely different lives and made very different choices for those lives."

"I sense a 'but', and my Slayer sense is never wrong about this," Chobe accused with squinted eyes.

"Unfortunately, another word for but, our lives just got put on a cross point, and your life is about to suddenly become a lot like mine." GS stared hard into her other's eyes.

"What do you mean?" she asked quietly.

"I'm the Team Leader.  It all comes back to me.  I'm the reason, I'm the decision-maker, and I'm the final say.  I'm not the cause, and I'm not about to make this whole team about me only.  That's what you have to learn.  Leaders are about two things; their teams and the cause.  Some, stupidly, are about one or the other.  The good ones are about both."

"I guess you're a good leader then, huh?"  Chobe was silenced by the look she saw on Buffy's face.

"That's the second thing you have to learn, and it goes back to what I've found is wrong in the both of us," she said coldly.  "I don't know if you do it, but those three times I've met other Buffys, I've found one really _big_ problem.  We make mistakes.  We're human.  We may be slightly more or even better than the rest of humanity, but we make mistakes all the same."

"I know that.  I… I've made a lot of mistakes, ones I'm not going to repeat…"

"That's just it.  Three times over I've seen me make the same mistakes, and instead of learn from it, I, or rather _they_, either crumpled when everything went to hell, or assumed that because it all turned out okay in the end, everything they did was the right thing to do, mistakes and all.  In short, they _never learned_!  I may have been a major ditz my freshman year, I may even have been a bad Slayer my first and second years as that.  But I will be damned to the lowest pit of Hell Prime before I become a bad leader!  I make mistakes and I learn from them.  If it turns out okay in the end, I tally up all the mistakes I made and every little thing that went wrong and I call that 'OK' a total failure.  Even if everything went better than I possibly could have imagined I find faults and try and think of ways to correct them."

She huffed and suddenly turned around to stare directly into the setting sun.  "More times than I can count I've had somebody, whether Xander, Willow, Giles, or somebody else, come along and clean up a mess that I caused with one, single, stupid mistake that could have been avoided if I had just thought and learned from past mistakes.  My first year as a Slayer, hell, my first month after Training, I acted exactly like that.  I never once thought ahead besides what was best for me or my team.  Namely having fun.

"Just before our first Tournament, I finally managed to get my act together and started acting like a real person and not a dumb blonde given power.  My point is, I clean up my own messes now.  If it's my fault a demon got away or a vampire crossed the line or anything else like that, I take care of it.  I chase after the demon until its dead.  I kill the vampire and clean up everything he did, whether that was summon more demons and vampires or killed someone important.  I go to every funeral this town has, and for the entire service, even if it was entirely natural causes, I blame myself for that person's death." She was crying openly now, but her voice still even.

"You should have killed Angel the moment you saw him again and knew he was evil," GS accused.  "I would have.  You can't afford to let other people clean up your messes anymore Buffy!  You've got too much power, and because of Thailog and his damned bracelet you're too important!  You make a mistake and whole universes will suffer the consequences.  Start cleaning up your mistakes and _learning_ from them or by the Powers and your own father, I will hunt you down and make it so that you died in the Masters cave and Xander was the one to kill him and save the world.  That is not a threat.  That is not a promise, or an oath.  It is what I will do to each and every one of my counterparts unless they wizen up and start thinking.  Especially ones like you."

She had been staring at the sun the whole time, but Chobe could feel the heat of the gaze the Gold Slayer would have had upon her if she'd been looking at her.  What made it even worse… she knew she was right.

"I…don't know if I can…" she quietly whispered.

"Then you'd better learn.  And quickly.  If you want, I can have our Thailog here in a matter of minutes and you can learn the hard way.  I won't do that.  Yet."  She took a deep breath and let out a long, low sigh.  "You couldn't attack him, so your boyfriend had to come in and "clean up your mess" by taking out his twin.  It all turned out ok in the end.  Does that mean you made all the right decisions?"

Chobe flinched.  She knew she hadn't, but she also knew she had been subconsciously thinking that she had.

"You have until you leave here, our home, to learn everything we have to teach you.  Whether that be magic, fighting skills," she now looked Chobe in the eye, "or personal skills and life revelations.  For your sake I hope you learn them well, if not quickly."  She looked back at the sun, which was at its last few seconds of life-giving light.

The sun set and darkness covered half the sky while the dying reflections of the sun's light were quickly being consumed by it.  "Xander and Cordy are patrolling the west end of town, Faith and I the east and downtown.  Giles is covering the southern end.  I want you and Thailog to take the warehouse district on the northern end.  And think about what I said.  And think about this too.  What if our Thailog, despite the Band, had been stronger than your boyfriend, and only Willow, who arrived after the fight was over, could have saved him?  What if's are a Leader's worst nightmare, and only salvation for surviving the future."

"We'll leave after supper, which is in half an hour," the Gold Slayer said as she jumped off the roof and landed full force on the ground.  To a normal person, such a leap would have at least broken a leg.  GS-Buffy was just glad she hadn't left a crater.

The moment the Gold Slayer was in the house, a flutter of leathery wings and Buffy was where she had been before her twin had come up to talk.  "So?  How did it go?" he asked.

In reply, Buffy just burrowed herself deeper into her, for all intents and purposes, husband's body.  "Hold me."

Concerned, but not enough to do anything, just yet, about it, Thailog obeyed the request and held her for the next twenty minutes.  As they stayed there, through their mental and emotional link, Thailog understood what had his wife so upset.  This Buffy, who had seemingly overcome all her inadequacies, or at least enough of them to recognize them in herself, had just forced a very harsh mirror under his Buffy's nose, and as much as he wanted to prove this Gold Slayer wrong, the Child of Oberon wouldn't let him.  Because they both knew at the bottom of their hearts… that she was right.

"Let's go to supper.  You'll feel better after you sleep on it," Thailog assured her.  Silently, she nodded and they both glided down to the back door and entered the kitchen to the smells of a heavenly delight of food.

_Warehouse District (North)_

"And I thought our Sunnydale was creepy," Buffy muttered as they worked their way through the warehouses. "We've checked three warehouses and not a vamp or demon in sight. Not even a homeless guy."

"Perhaps they believe you to be your counterpart," Ta'ruk suggested. Buffy made a noise.

"Great, just what I needed," she muttered. "I can't even get a decent fight around here 'cause they're all scared of her." Thailog moved up behind her.

"We should move on to the next warehouse," he said. Buffy sighed, agreeing.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" a grating voice said. The trio turned to face the owner of the voice, a vampire and his twenty companions.

"Finally," Buffy said, drawing her sword. "I was getting bored. Think you guys could've waited any longer?" The vamp sneered.

"Drop the act, girl," he said. "We heard your little speech.  We know you aren't the Slayer." Buffy grinned.

"Not the local one," she said as the vamps charged. She swung her sword in a wide arc, beheading two of the vamps, delivering a devastating kick to one that was trying to sneak up behind her. Thailog grabbed the falling vamp, slamming it through a wall. He grabbed a shard of wood and slammed it into the vampire's heart. Buffy smiled as said vamp exploded into dust. Her smile soon disappeared as her doubles words from earlier came to mind. What if Thailog hadn't been able to handle the vamp? She shook it off. Worry later, dust now.

She heard the unmistakable sound of Ta'ruk's staff weapon going off, and vamps dusting seconds later. "Least we know it works," she muttered, heading toward the leader. "Still think I'm easy pickings?"

"But I…you said you weren't her." Buffy grinned as she slammed her katana into his chest.

"Now did I say that?" She said as he dusted. She turned away to find the other vamps dusted. "You'd think with super me around the vamps would give a little more of a challenge."

"Obviously they aren't given a chance," Thailog said. Buffy nodded.

"Yeah, guess she would take 'em out faster than they rose," she said. "C'mon. We still got a few warehouses to go before knock off time." Thailog brought his hand down on her shoulder.

"Not before we talk," he said. Buffy looked up at him. "Do not fault yourself for my actions. I do not blame you for hesitating against my double earlier, nor do I regret attacking the vampire that attempted to ambush you. Anyone would have done the same. You are not God."

"She would have."

"You are not _her_ either," Thailog said. "And you cannot say that, had she walked the same path, she would have turned out any different to you. Her words earlier may hold some truth in them…"

"Let's face it, everything she said was true," Buffy muttered sourly.

"Perhaps," Thailog said. "But you cannot worry about that during battle. I do not understand her reasons for confronting you with these truths so close to patrol, but remember one thing." He cupped her chin in his hand. "I love you for who you are, not who you might be. If I thought, for an instant, that my journeys would endanger you I would have gone on my own way from the start. You make mistakes; you hide your pain behind a mask, who can say they do any different? Your power does not make you any less human."

"Yeah, just more responsible." Buffy muttered. Thailog growled softly.

"We have been through this before. You cannot be responsible for everything that happens. If you are fighting a single vampire, that vampire gets away and kills someone, then you are responsible. If you are fighting a vampire, and a vampire on the other side of the world, whom you've never seen before, kills someone, you are not responsible, for you never had the chance to stop it. If a person dies of cancer, you are not responsible. There is nothing you could have done. Your double has not, or perhaps, refuses to, learn this lesson. She blames herself for everything that happens." He placed the shard of wood he had used in her hand. "She says she wishes only to help us, to teach us. Perhaps it is time for her to learn as well."

_Casa de la Summers (and everyone else)_

GS-Buffy sat down in the dining room. Some demons never learned. They just kept coming.

"You were wrong," a voice said. Buffy calmly turned to face her double, who threw a shard of wood on the table. "Maybe I could've reacted a bit differently against your version of Thailog. But then, who's to say it didn't turn out the way it was supposed to? We learnt a bit about the Band, and I discovered a weakness, one that I have to address. It was a mistake, and one I will correct."

"That same mistake, you made against Angelus," GS pointed out to her.

"Maybe," she agreed. "Or maybe it was a lesson in trust. I will always have friends I can depend on, people I trust, to watch my back. I'm never alone, and I never want to be. You take the weight of the world on your shoulder, and don't let anyone help. Everything that happens in Sunnydale, every death, is your fault, at least that's the way you see it. But there's one thing you need to remember. You have power, you have responsibility, but you aren't God. You merely think that, because you're basically the most powerful person in your universe, everything is your fault. That's where you're wrong." Chobe took a breath.

"Believe it or not, I know the feeling," she continued. "Just before the first vampy-us meeting, I was thinking the same. No one really knows this, but I invited myself to every funeral in Sunnydale, vamp death or not, during that time of self-blame. It nearly killed me, and it's what made it so easy for the Slayer to take over when I faced vamp Willow. I wanted to end it." Gold Slayer now had no idea where she was going with this. Chobe pointed to the forgotten piece of wood.

"Thailog took out a vamp that tried to ambush me tonight, using this.  Your talk earlier made me think about what may have happened, right in the middle of a fight. Dangerous at the best of times. So's letting blame for things that aren't your fault drag you down. You can't be at blame for everything. Like I said, you're not God; you can't be expected to do everything. Just do the best with what you can do." She turned and headed to the back. "One more thing. That thing with Angel, or with your version of Thailog, was a mistake, I'll admit to that. You said you wouldn't have frozen like I did, maybe you're right. But I think you fail to take into account one thing. What if it were Willow?" And with that, she walked out. The Gold Slayer sat there, staring at the wood.

Chobe closed the kitchen door behind her, and jumped when she saw GS leaning against the wall right in front of her.  "Would you like to know what it's like to be me?" the Gold Slayer asked the Child of Oberon.

Chobe squinted her eyes in mild anger.  GS spoke again before she could answer.

"This wasn't about me bragging about my experiences or thinking that I'm perfect and need to figure out that I'm not.  I'm not the one with delusions of perfection.  You are."  Buffy stood up and walked to the middle of the back yard.

"I'm serious though," she said as she walked, "Would you like to know what is like to be me?  All my power, my greater strength, whatever powers I have that you don't?"

"Thinking you're God's gift to the world?" Chobe finished snidely.

_'You have no idea what you are talking about Buffy,'_ rang throughout Chobe's mind, while GS-Buffy's mouth remained shut.  _'We didn't tell you everything about our history.  Our different histories.  You know that Willow and I are linked as you and Thailog are, but that's not where this ability of mine comes from.  Recall when we first met, I mentioned something about me being a powerful psionic?  But I guess you don't know what that is.  Don't worry, first time I heard the term, even though I was one, I had no clue what it meant either.'_

"A psionic is a person who can use about 90% of their mind.  Not brain, mind.  Telepathy, telekinesis, matter manipulation, it's all a matter of thought," GS continued out loud.  She sat down on a bench on the porch.  "You know about the Super Slayer, Willow explained that to you she told me.  But you don't know… is that I cheated."

Chobe frowned.  "What do you mean?" she asked, sitting on another surface across from the Gold Slayer.

"The first time I transformed, I was not beyond level 100.  Near the end of Training, we realized to survive the Tournament we would need an ace up our sleeves, so working with several people that had helped to train us at the Compound, we preformed a spell.  That spell took all of our spirits, our life energies, mine, Willow's, Xander's, and Giles', and pooled them all together, and then placed that combined spirit into my body.  That was enough energy that I automatically transformed into the Super Slayer.

"Months after that, we began noticing things.  Or rather I did.  I began to hear the thoughts of the others, knowing exactly where they were, what they were doing, how they were feeling, all of the time.  As soon as I surpassed the level 100 barrier, the Super Slayer transformation changed.  We always cast the spell anytime they needed me to transform, but now when we cast the spell, the other's changed too, only with a surplus of their own energy, it was different from the Super Slayer transformation.  Ask Willow about it some time.

"But even after that, after we discovered the spell, mixing our life energies, had given us, or rather me, a psychic connection to the others.  It was how I knew Xander's dad was beating him, how I knew Willow's mom was distancing herself from her daughter's life so much that she didn't even know where Willow was at any time or even who her closest friends were.  But it didn't stop there.

"I began to hear the thoughts of people who I never knew before, or people that I did but weren't a part of the group.  And things began to happen around me.  Things breaking that I didn't even exert power to do, rooms shaking, and once I even gave a guy that deserved it a stroke.  He lived, although he's still not in much condition to be called living."

"So these…psionic powers started to show up," Chobe observed from the story so far.  "Side effect from the spell, or what?"

"Both.  Neither.  The potential for me to be a psionic was always there, the constant use of the spell though is what brought it out so early.  Normally it wouldn't have surfaced until I was at least ninety years old.  But we didn't discover that until after a demon tried to possess me, and through me the entire team, using it.  That was Archius by the way.  He supped the life force off supernatural beings to enhance himself.  With me, he found the Hive filling the honey pot, so to speak.  He physically possessed me once I was under enough of his control for him to do so.  Believe it or not, it took Spike to snap me out of it.  The others were under as much control as I was."

"Why would he do that?" Chobe asked.

GS shrugged.  "Might be because Dru told him to rescue me.  Might also be because if I died, he was guaranteed destruction as well.  He's a member of the Compound as well.  The Powers put him on my team when he asked to join the Tournament.  We still don't get along very well, but it's a forced relationship."

"Anyway," she continued with her story, "after Spike helped us vanquish Archius, since he was more spirit now than a body to kill, we asked the Compound what was going on with me and we got the whole low-down, and I was sent to a universe where someone taught me how to control properly use my new powers.  Shortly after, I set up an independent link between every member of the team, including Cordy and Spike, so that we can hear each other's thoughts when we want to send a message or just talk.  Faster and more reliably than cell phones, that's for sure.  As for Willow's and mine connection, that's a whole other story, which I will let my wife decide whether we tell you or not."

Chobe whined.  "Awwww!  That's not fair!"

"Would you like to know what it's like to be me?"

"Why do you keep asking me that?" Chobe asked, sounding frustrated.

Instead of a verbal answer, the Child of Oberon got more than she wanted.  She felt something brush, and then open up in her mind.  She felt, as she felt Thailog's presence when he was nearby, her counterpart in her mind.  But along with it, she felt, and heard things that she couldn't begin to describe.

_'What is this?'_ Chobe demanded.  For some reason she felt like she had to shout inside her own mind.  There was too much "noise", other people's thoughts, emotions, feelings and actions.

_'This is what it's like to be me,'_ GS answered, her "voice" was quiet, not shouted, but still clearly heard.  _'But at 1/1000 of the level I experience it at.  I control this link we now share.  If I want you to hear me without shouting, you hear me.  And I wouldn't want you to go insane.  After all, I did when my powers first manifested themselves.'_

_'What-what do you mean?'_  Chobe asked, suddenly frightened.  She had no experience with this kind of thing, something entirely of the mind but still able to hurt or cripple her.  Or drive her insane.

_'I was hearing thoughts everywhere, feeling everyone's emotions as they felt them, and the only person that I could talk to that understood me, and that I could even stand to be around (because vampires are much more difficult to "hear" telepathically) was Drusilla.  Half the time I was just mouthing off, verbally repeating the thoughts that were forefront of my confused mind.'_

Suddenly the thing in her mind disappeared, and they were in the back yard, exactly where they had been.  "I feel and hear the thoughts and emotions of everyone in Sunnydale.  My range is just over the range of the Hellmouth itself, so yeah, that's all of Sunnydale.  If I need to, I can push it so that I can send or hear thoughts all the way from Anchorage, Alaska to Columbia in South America, and from the Hawaiian Islands to New York.  Of course I'm probably in a coma, physically speaking, but that's how far I can extend my range.  24 hours a day, seven days a week, four weeks a month, 12 months a year, for two years now, I've had all of Sunnydale in my head."

"I don't punish myself for not saving them by going to every funeral in Sunnydale Buffy," GS finally admitted.  "I go to the funerals because I _knew_ those people.  As intimately as I know you."

"How could you possibly know everyone in Sunnydale?  And I thought this Compound of yours sent you to some universe where you learned to control your powers." Chobe argued.

GS-Buffy nodded.  "I can't turn it off.  I have to meditate _every day_, sometimes twice a day.  But that isn't so I don't go insane, it's so I can focus my own thoughts so that I can ignore the thoughts all around me.  Even you occasionally need some alone time.  I spend every day of my life in a crowded room where the only quiet people are the dead ones.  Even some of those people aren't that quiet on the Hellmouth.  Everyone else is shouting, conversing, or mumbling."

"My gawd," Chobe whispered as the horror of it came to fruition in her mind.  "How do you stand it?"

Buffy shrugged.  "I meditate twice a day to focus my thoughts.  And I have really weird dreams," she answered.  "Beyond that… I do what I would normally do."

"But it can't be easy, ignoring the thoughts of everyone in your home town," Chobe pointed out.

GS shook her head, "It isn't.  Sometimes things slip through.  But I have enough experience now that I don't trail off and go mumbling what someone across town is thinking at the moment.  And if I ever lose my mind, note how literal that phrase can be taken in this conversation, Willow and the others are always willing to go hunting for me.  So… I'm not any more alone than you are.  In fact, I'm probably even less alone than you ever could be."

Chobe nodded.  She understood now.  However there were still some things that were troubling her.

"Let me show you something," GS said before the other Slayer could even open her mouth.  At a loss, Chobe shrugged and nodded.  Both Slayers got to their feet and silently took off into the night air.

A short time later, both were hovering in a dark spot above a wooden fence, looking in on a family through the back yard window.

"They're the Coopers.  Randy, the father with the balding head and glasses there, he's the Principal of the Elementary school just outside of town, but still in the district.  His wife Becky.  She's a Baptist with seven sisters and three brothers.  Very close with all of her family, and she's also an Administrator at the First Baptist church." GS pointed at each through the window.

"They have four children.  Here you can see the youngest, Jordan, he's the blond-haired version of his older brother and father.  He's also an eternal optimist and always lightens the moment at the right time.  He's only six right now.  His older sister Abigail," she pointed at a young brunette.  "She's captain of her soccer team at school, which happens to be the one their father is the principal of, and she's trying to be like her mother, close to her family.  And there's Blake, dark hair like his father, and almost a clone of the man.  A very good role model for Jordan and Abby."

"Why are you showing me this?  This is wrong!"

GS floated downward and sat on the fence without actually sitting on it.  "They can't see us and they aren't going to do anything wrong if that's what you're thinking.  I'm trying to make a point, so if you could just give me a little patience?"

She debated it for several long moments, but finally huffed out her disapproval and mimicked her double by floating less than an inch from the top of the fence, making it look like she was sitting there.

"One month ago, the eldest, Derek, died in a car accident.  His funeral was last week.  I went, not because I wasn't there to stop the accident, not because I was out in the desert training with Faith while a drunk named Jason Higgins was slamming his car into the driver side of Derek Cooper's car, instantly killing an innocent boy who got top grades, a little slow in history, was kind to his friends and was volunteering at a homeless shelter in one of the LA suburbs, and trimmed the grass and bushes of every house on this street to help pay for a birthday present for his youngest sibling.  I went to his funeral because I wanted to say good bye to a young man this world, and his family will miss.  They still miss him, but they're moving on.  So am I."

GS looked back at the family and then back at her companion.  "Don't you see?  I don't punish myself for every scrape an innocent gets.  It's called life.  Just because I'm suddenly aware of it, or have the power to make every single person's life absolutely painless, doesn't mean I want to, let alone _should_ go around being everyone's over protective parent.  Even if I could, without stressing myself, I would not save everyone's life from pain.  Not to say that I would choose who lives and who dies, but I'm not going to control everyone's lives to make me feel better.  What I _will_ protect them from are the things where they don't get to choose.  Demons, terrorists, needless crimes, that's what I focus on.  But I don't punish myself.  I go to funerals not to learn why I failed, but to gain reason for going on.  The people left behind."

Chobe blinked.  Why did she always end up crying when she spoke to herself like this?

GS looked down and away.  "I didn't mean to make you lose focus like that; I just wanted you to think."

"What… what d-do you mean?" Chobe asked as she wiped away her tears.

"Which is better?  Now that you know both sides, which is better?  Worrying about everything, or not worrying about anything?" GS asked her.

"Huh?"

"Which do you prefer, like you were before, and our other doubles, thinking that you're doing everything right and only worrying about your relationship with Thailog or someone stealing him away from you?  Or now, hesitating in the middle of battle because you're worried that your ally isn't up to the task he's been given, by you incidentally?"  GS elaborated.

She thought for a moment and considered the question, but her anger at being accused of something sparked the 'bitch attitude' just a smidgeon.

"You're making this about me again!" Chobe snapped.

"It was never about anybody else," GS answered back.

"Where the hell do you get off…?!" Chobe started to shout and then quieted herself and started breathing deeply, trying to get her temper under control.

"Which is better?" she asked again.

Now she really thought about it.  Which was better?  Being overconfident and being surprised when mistakes reared, and never learning from them and maybe even repeating them.  Or being worried all the time.  Neither.  That was the only thought she had in her head when asked the question.  Wasn't there some way she could compromise?

"No," she said quietly, answering the Gold Slayer's question.  "No, not one or the other is better.  They're extremes, and this world isn't about extremes, it's about compromise.  I know that I make mistakes, and I promise I'll learn from them.  I already have.  Now tell me what is this all about?"

"You've got part of it.  You can figure it out.  What did you do wrong?"

"What do you…?" she stopped before the question was out of her mouth.  It came to her in a sudden insight so obvious she felt like smacking herself upside the head.  "I didn't trust Thailog.  Ever since our first talk… I've been doubting myself, but I just… I projected my doubt onto Thailog.  Oh my gawd, I can't believe I was so conceited.  This whole time I…"  She stopped and considered something.  "How can I know whether or not he can handle something?"

"Could you, alone, have handled that vampire you said he staked?" GS asked.

Chobe thought back.  _'Maybe,'_ she thought, _'But it definitely would have made the fight harder if I'd been by myself.  But Thailog has always watched my back from the moment we met.'_

"Yeah, but…"

"Why do you let him patrol with you, if you're so afraid he'll get hurt?" GS interrupted.

"Because he's too stubborn to…  Ohhhh, you're good.  Bitch." Chobe bit out as the revelation dawned on her.

"Thank you," GS replied, looking smug.

"I'm not telling you to doubt yourself.  I'm telling you to think, and learn, and be responsible.  I'm not telling you to be the Lone Slayer or become General Washington overnight.  I'm telling you that you are very soon going to be forced into the role of leadership.  And I'm giving you enough warning so you can be ready for it."

"But I'm not a leader!  And I don't want to be!" Chobe exclaimed.

"And you think I did?  You think I was ready when they shoved this in my lap?  I was two years younger than you are now and a _hell_ of a lot less experienced than even you are, but I was given the role of a leader of a team made up by my closest friends against the worst evil from across the entire omniverse!" GS shot right back.

"At first, the _very_ first, I didn't quite trust Xander to hold his own.  But then, as we trained and grew stronger, I saw the man he is and what his strengths and his weaknesses are.  I saw the same for Giles and Willow, and as I personally trained Faith.  I even know Spike's strengths and weaknesses as far as his fighting goes.  I know what my team can and can't handle.  And I'm not about to put one of them in a position where I think they can't handle it.  If I do, then I make sure they have back up and help available if things get out of control.  I don't control their lives, just as I don't control the Coopers' lives.  What I do, is make sure they know I have faith in them and that if they need my help or if I need theirs, we're always going to be there for one another."

"Didn't sound like what you were saying before," Chobe commented.  GS shrugged.

"Then maybe you weren't listening very well.  Look.  I like you.  I like your friends, Thailog and Ta'ruk.  But like you recognized Thailog has his own destiny, I recognize yours as you stand beside him.  He very well may end up being the overall leader to lead your people against this enemy, but you're going to have your share of the responsibilities as it is.  2nd in command and all that.  Let me play out a scenario for you, and you tell me what you would do," GS suggested.

"All right," Chobe agreed.

"50 vamps, all a minimum of 100 years old, meaning they're powerful.  Five demon sorcerers back them up, each of a level of power slightly greater than your Willow.  You know you can easily take out at least three of them without even trying.  You have with you, Thailog, Goliath and the clan, Xander, Faith, Giles, Willow and another witch friend of Willow's who has more skill but less power than Willow herself, which makes her, skill-wise, the equal of one of the demon sorcerers.  You also have twenty Cy-Bots on loan to you from Renhard all equipped to take out a minimum of two vampires per Cy-Bot.  How are you going to react?"

Chobe took a deep breath and thought out the problem.  Five minutes of careful and hard thinking later, she gave her answer.  "First I'd make sure no surprises came up, like the demons summoning more demons or vampires.  Then I'd send the Cy-Bots to take care of the vampires, and I'd trust Xander and Faith to do their own share there.  Knowing Thailog, he'd be right behind me all the way, watching my back.  I'd ask Broadway, Brooklyn, and Lexington to guard Willow and her witch friend, after asking them to take out one of the sorcerers with either a binding spell or a vanquish, because I know that a witch can sometimes lend her power to another witch, so Willow could lend her power to the more skilled witch and they can take care of one of the demons.  I'd move ahead and try to take on the last four, trying to take them out as fast as I could.  Giles…I'd ask him to help Willow and her friend.  He might know some spells to help them out.  As for the others…I think they could finish off all of the vampires, but even after the demons are taken care of, I'd still help out in finishing the vamps off."

Buffy nodded, and for a moment Chobe thought she was approving.  So much for anticipating how the Gold Slayer thinks.  "You're wrong.  You'll sustain casualties, especially among the ones engaging fifty vampires.  What you should have done was take out as many of the vampires yourself with your largest destructive magicks, and let the Cy-Bots take out the left overs and leave the whole team to protect Willow and her friend while Thailog, with his band, takes out that fourth demon while you take care of the three you wouldn't even have to sweat over."

"This puts the biggest power you've got to the most advantage without having to worry about or wear down the weaker forces of the opposition.  If you finish yours early, this allows you to be back up for anybody else that really needs it.  The way you did it, everyone is on their own and if one of them is in trouble, the nearest person has to fight their way through fifty vamps to actually help." GS explained.

Chobe thought it over, and nodded herself as she admitted the superior strategy.  "Is that what you do all day?  Plan strategy?"

GS started laughing.  "No.  I know what my team is capable, and I know how they'll react and what they can and can't handle.  But no matter my level of confidence, it's never wrong to have help ready.  You said it to me.  You aren't alone, but you are in charge, and people are going to force you to make the decisions.  Sometimes, that's almost as bad as being alone.  Do you understand yet?"

"I understand that I have to trust the people that I lead," Chobe answered, "But I don't think I have your point yet.  I…what if I don't trust myself to make those kinds of decisions?"

GS was silent for a time, regarding her alternate.

Finally, "Does Thailog trust you?"

She did not hesitate, "Unconditionally."

"Do you trust him?"

Hesitation, thought, nod.  "Yes.  I do."

"You know what he can and can't do, and we're learning that he has higher limits than even he knew.  That's easy.  The same can probably be said for each of your friends back home that you've fought with hundreds of times.  But the question isn't do you trust them, it's how can you trust yourself?" she said aloud, but despite this didn't seem to be asking anything of Chobe.

"Angelus killed Angel," GS stated.  Chobe looked around at her, startled and afraid for some reason deep in her heart.

"Angelus is a demon.  Angel is a soul.  Angelus, when Angel had the moment of pure happiness, killed Angel and stole his body and his life.  Everyone saw that.  Everyone but you.  Xander especially saw that Angelus was not Angel.  Didn't he?" GS asked.

Chobe didn't answer.

"If you had thought of it like that, instead of Angel turning evil, that Angelus killed Angel, your lover and first love, do you think, in your heart, that you could have killed Angelus?" she asked finally.

Silence.  Thoughtful silence.

"Now, after everything that you've learned today, do you think that you could defend yourself against the other Thailog?" she asked after a minute.

The silence stretched on as she thought, so Chobe knew that her counterpart wanted an answer to this question.  After a couple more minutes, she finally answered, "I… I could defend myself, yes.  But… I couldn't… hurt him."

GS blinked.  "Who the hell said anything about killing Thailog?" she snapped.

Chobe looked up, just as surprised as her other was.  "But…"

"I said could you kill Angelus, a demon that cares nothing for life.  Hell, it's practically un-life itself!  But Thailog, yours or mine or someone else's, he's a living creature.  Misguided a bit perhaps, but he's still alive and has a soul.  I asked if you could defend yourself, maybe even stun him with a jolt of electricity that wouldn't even leave a tingle afterward, or knock him upside the head.  I never, nobody _ever_ intended you to hurt anyone for anything." GS protested.

Chobe stared at her, stunned.

"We're Slayers, as such the phrase "With Great Power comes a Greater Responsibility" takes on a very personal meaning," GS continued.  "With the slightest bit of pressure we can kill almost anyone.  Get a little stressed out; if we lash out things get destroyed.  What I was pointing out was that you didn't even _try_ to defend yourself against him.  You thought that punching him would have killed him or something worse.  But you already know this.  You know, Willow and I spar sometimes, and whenever I hold back, she yells at me.  Whenever I go too far and she gets hurt or knocked out, I yell at myself.  Even I haven't figured out the compromise.  But don't be afraid to defend yourself.  You can always just tie him up or something."

Chobe winced at the clue.  "Probably should have done that right off the bat," she berated herself.

GS shrugged.

"What if it was Willow?" Chobe asked suddenly, half startling the Gold Slayer.

She sighed.  Then she amazingly perked right back up.  "I'd kick her ass and ask her what the hell she was doing.  If I saw Willow turned into vampire, although with my wife that isn't possible, immortal remember, I'd destroy the demon that killed my best friend the instant I saw it.  But again, the Slayer and I are a lot closer together than you probably are.  It's all right that you won't kill people with the faces you love.  Just… when you have help available, make sure that they can and that you won't stop them."

"Wait… what?"

GS shrugged.  "I know it takes time getting past something like that, a part of yourself you can't fight all at once.  I know that you aren't me, and I'm not asking you to even try and be me.  I want you to be you, but to learn as well.  If you can't kill someone or something, then all I ask is that you plan so you aren't helpless beneath whatever that someone or something is.  If you can't kill Angelus, then have Giles and Xander do it.  If you can't stop Thailog, make sure your guy or someone else that can take on a gargoyle is nearby to subdue him.  If you won't destroy a vampire, un-souled version of Xander or Willow, then ask someone who can, like human versions of Xander and Willow or souled vampires to do it for you."

"Wait, wait just a second here… this wasn't about me and my mistakes at all, was it?" she asked.

GS shook her head.  "It was about you learning to not act stupid.  Like several other versions of ourselves have done."

"Damn.  You couldn't have just said that from the beginning?"

"You had to learn.  And if I said, "Don't act stupid" you'd take it as an insult and still act stupid because you didn't know what I was referring to.  You understand now?"

Chobe sighed and nodded.  "Yeah, I think I do.  And I'll take it to heart, I promise."

"That's the most that I can ask," Buffy hugged Buffy.

"Let's go back and get some rest.  It's still summer, and none of us have jobs for the next couple months.  So we can all focus on training you three tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that…"

"Provided you don't piss off your wife again with another stupid stunt!"  They floated off the fence and flew through the air towards Revello Drive.

"I forgot!  And Faith started it by firing an energy blast at me without warning.  We usually warn each other when we switch from physical to energy fighting."

"Real fights aren't like that!"

"REAL fights are anything goes the moment they start.  We always blast off with energy and physical combinations the moment a Tournament fight starts, but in training, we try to organize how we do things.  If we just wanted to fight each other, we'd still be training out in the desert instead of a gym in our home."

"Yeah about that…"

"No, you can't have one."

"Why not?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because I said you can't have one."

"But _why_?  Why can't I get a gym of my own?"

"Um… maybe because you don't know at least six multi-millionaires, each with a corporation succeeding in high technology research?"

"I know one guy like that!"

"Yeah, and I know six, including that one!"

…

And so it continued…

_The next day_

"Alright, you guys ready?" GS asked as the three Travellers walked into the house.

"Can we have breakfast first?" her counterpart asked.

"Already on the table," was the answer. "Finish up and meet us in the gym, Thailog. Buffy, you're with Willow again. Try not to interfere with his training this time."

"As long as Xander keeps his hands to himself," Chobe muttered, moving to the kitchen.

"Don't worry," GS assured her with a grin. "That won't be a problem. From today, I'll be handling his training." Thailog cocked an eyebrow. This was about to get interesting.

"Just try not to wreck anything," her counterpart said, reaching for some pancakes. "I like him in one piece. Even though it probably won't kill him."

"Huh?"

"Our link gives Thailog access to my Fey healing and Immortality." She said through a mouthful of pancakes. "Part of the spell I cast before we started." GS-Buffy looked at Willow with a look that asked 'Did you…?' The Power Mage shook her head.

"Uh-uh." She said.

"Thailog told Xander and the others," Chobe said. "I'm surprised…" She stopped, her gaze shifting to the window. "I have to go," she said, getting to her feet.

"Buffy?" Thailog asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"He knows I'm here," she whispered. "I have to go." Before anyone could say anything else, she disappeared.

"What the hell was that about?" the remaining Buffy demanded. Thailog looked out the window, hoping she would be safe.

"Oberon," he then turned and headed for the gym.

"Where are you going?" Buffy demanded. Thailog looked at her, worry obvious in his face.

"She will be fine," he said, trying to convince himself more than anyone else. "In any event, she has said I should continue with my training, and not to worry. I trust her, and Oberon, so I shall do as she has requested."

"Won't stop you from worrying, though," Buffy said. Thailog merely nodded and headed to the gym.__

_Avalon_

"It seems we have a new arrival," Phoebe said, looking down from her cliff.

"I do not recognize this one," Selene noted.

"Whoever she is, she feels familiar," Luna said. Her sisters nodded their agreement.

"Indeed, she feels like our Lord Oberon," Selene said.

"But how is this possible?" Phoebe asked, looking down as the new arrival took a deep breath.

"The only way we can find out is if we ask," Luna suggested. They all agreed and disappeared.

Buffy looked around, knowing, without really knowing, that she had arrived on the home she had never seen on her earth. Avalon, home of the Fey. She closed her eyes, taking a breath of air. It was much purer than any she had breathed, except for that on the living planet back in SG-1's universe. The comparison was not lost on her.

"Who are you, Stranger?" a familiar voice said from behind her.

"How and why have you come here?" a second voice said.

"Be warned that you are trespassing," The third said. Buffy turned to face the Three Sisters.

"Nice to know something's don't change," she muttered.

"Answer our questions," Selene said.

"This is not your place," Luna added. Tell me about it, Buffy thought.

"If you do not answer, we will be forced to take action," Phoebe warned. That was where Buffy drew the line.

A royal blue glow sprang around, a glow that lit in her eyes as well. Her confidence swelled with her anger as three sets of hands sprang from the earth, clutching the Sisters and holding them high.

Selene glared at the girl, enraged at the gall she had shown in manhandling them. Her anger, however, quickly turned to fear when she realized that the girl was not merely manipulating the ground. Avalon was obeying her commands as if she were Oberon himself.

"You, of all people, dare to threaten me?" Buffy hissed. "Dare to send me away from the home I've never even seen?" The Sisters looked between them. Who was this girl? "This may not be my home reality, but that changes nothing. I am still the Daughter of Oberon, and I will not be banished from Avalon's shores by the likes of you."

"ENOUGH!" The command rang across the island, the hands immediately withdrawing into the ground. Buffy turned to face her father. "It seems we have much to talk about."

"You called, I came," she said.

"You picked up the summons for the Gathering," Oberon said, slightly shocked.

"I am half Fey," Buffy told him.

"So I noticed. Why are you here?"

"Blame my father." Buffy informed him. She looked back at the Sister. "You three going to behave yourselves?"

"As you wish, my Lady," Selene said. Buffy scowled.

"I really hate titles," she muttered. Oberon chuckled and began to walk, motioning her to follow, which she did so.

"So, why are you here?" he asked again.

"Basically?" Buffy took a breath. "I was raised as human. You decided that I'd be better off that way, away from the games that Fey play. Also, you… sorry, your counterpart, didn't want the Watchers to find out that one of their Potential Slayers was half Fairy." He looked down at her. Was she saying…? "Yep, I'm the Slayer."

"Any way, when you and mom divorced, we moved to Sunnydale. In a train of unnecessary to repeat events, I became, by both my Watcher's accounts and my father's, one of the best. Then the Three Sisters got involved. Something I needed to handle, they needed to train me, you know how it is."

"I presume this training unlocked your Fey powers?" Oberon asked.

"Yep," Buffy confirmed. "Dad was really pissed off at the fact, too."

"I can see why," Oberon agreed with his counterpart's actions. "Your appearance here?"

"Dad found the Gateway," Buffy told him. "Trained there for a while, then me and my boyfriend started traveling between dimensions so I could learn a bit more. Then we find out Thailog's got a destiny all his own. Still trying to figure out that bit, but we're getting there." She looked around. "This is the best I've felt since… Well, since I arrived here actually." Oberon nodded knowingly.

"Traveling as you do, even through the Gateway, requires much of your strength," he said. "Were you a full blooded Fey, it would not affect you so badly. As it is…" He looked down at his could-have-been daughter. "At each stop, you will have to visit that dimension's Avalon. If you do not, your strength will diminish, and you will die." Buffy looked up at him.

"Dad didn't tell me about this," she whispered.

"It is possible that he did not know," her father's counterpart suggested. "In any event, I'm glad I had a chance to meet you. If not just for what you did to the Sisters…" Buffy grinned.

"They asked for it," she said. Oberon stopped, and looked down at her.

"It would be wrong of me to send the girl that could have been my daughter off on a quest without some sort of gift," he said. "And since you do not have a helmet, perhaps this will do instead." He passed his hand over her forehead and a small, silver tiara appeared. Buffy removed it to get a good look. "It will recognize only you as its owner, not even alternate versions will be able to touch it without pain. It will protect you from spells and physical harm, for as long as you live." Buffy placed the tiara on her head.

"Thankyou," she bowed slightly; Oberon cupped her chin.

"Take care," he said. "And do not let your father make the mistakes I have." Buffy nodded, took a step back… and disappeared. Oberon looked at the spot where she had stood, then out at the sea. "You have done well with her."

"I could have done better," Buffy's father said, walking out. "If I had stayed with her..."

"You did what needed to be done," his double said. "She will be fine."

"I hope so. I could never forgive myself if something happened to her."

"If her attitude is hereditary, I'd worry more about her mother," the local said with a smirk. Buffy's father sighed, before fading away. Be careful, my daughter, he thought.

_Casa de la Everyone. The gym._

"She's baaaack!" Xander said as Buffy appeared.

"Dump the jokes, Xand Man!" Buffy said, a grin on her face. "I'm fully charged and ready to rock. So don't piss me off."

"Fully charged?" Her counterpart asked, as she and Thailog stepped down from the platform they were training on.

"Something I need to talk to Willow about," Chobe said as she flew into Thailog's arms. "Been a good boy?"

"He's been a perfect gentleman," GS-Buffy said. "So, what the hell happened?"

"The Oberon of this world's started the Gathering," Chobe told her. "I picked up on the call, but some of the Fey may resist. Keep an eye on that."

"Got it," GS looked at the tiara that now rested on her forehead. "What's with the new jewellery?"

"Little gift from 'dad'," her counterpart said. "It's supposed to act like a helmet, to protect me from physical attacks, as well as mystical."

"How's that?" Xander asked. Chobe shrugged.

"Beats me," she said. "All I know is that it's supposed to protect me. Oh, and no other version of me can use it either. He's as overprotective as my dad."

"Be glad about that," GS muttered, reaching out to touch it. She yelped as a small electric shock ran up her arm.

"I did warn you," Chobe said.

GS have her a sly grin and replied, "I know."

"Cool," Xander said. "Hey, can I test it? You know, make sure it works."

"You mean you want a chance to throw a punch at another version of me, knowing she can't really strike back, right?" GS said. Xander gave a lopsided grin.

"Maybe" he said. Chobe sighed.

"I suppose," she said, slipping away from Thailog.

"Are you sure?" the Gargoyle asked. His lover nodded.

"Yeah," she said. She glared at Xander. "But remember, if you get through, I get to test some of the spells I've learned in Willow's books on you, deal?"

"Um, okay," Xander said hesitantly, wondering what she may have learned.

Buffy moved a few more steps away from Thailog, who was still giving her a worried look. "Alright, Xand," she said. "Go for it. And no glowy stuff, okay?" Xander nodded and charged forward. He drew his fist back, began to strike…

…And found himself on the other side of the gym before his fist could touch her.

"Well, it works." Chobe said. "Just don't ask me how," Thailog thought a moment.

"Xander, what did it feel like, just before you flew backward?" he asked, his scientific mind taking over.

"Like our Buffy stepped in," Warrior X said. "Why?" Thailog grinned.

"Ingenious," he muttered. "It reversed his inertia, turned it back on him. That's why he went flying."

"So, what?" Faith asked walking over to the group. Cordelia had moved over to Xander, whilst Ta'ruk simply watched. "It gave him a taste of his own medicine?"

"In a way," Thailog said. "It…met his strike with equal force, then a little bit more to 'end' the threat to Buffy."

"Cool," the Buffy in question muttered, removing the tiara. "Built-in force field."

"Ya might wanna equip air bags," Xander muttered as Cordelia got up. "That hurt."

"You volunteered," Chobe said. "Anyways, I'm gonna head up to Willow's Workroom. I presume that's where she is." Her counterpart nodded.

"Knock first," she advised.

"Thanks."

Willow's Workroom (_aka _Buffy's first level of Hell)

"Took you long enough," Willow griped as she opened the door magically, staying in the center of the room, levitating while surrounded by mystical energies Buffy couldn't begin to describe.

"Uh…had to talk with this version of my Dad.  And he gave me a present.  Wanna see?" Buffy took off the tiara and shown it.

Willow smiled.  The door shut behind the Child of Oberon suddenly.  "Why don't you go meditate first?  Practice _all_ of the exercises I taught you yesterday.  Once you have, return your energies to normal, as you sometimes seem to forget to do so, and we'll talk before continuing with new lessons.  By the way, if you'd like I can teach you how to lessen the side effects so that you can stay away from Avalon as much as a full blooded fairy."

Buffy blinked in surprise.  "How did you…?" she started to ask.

"I have my ways.  I felt you cross the veil of the Mists, and I subtly tapped my own little spy I have on Avalon to see what was happening.  Also…I knew, but I had also been hoping that since you did live your entire life off of Avalon and you're not only half human but a Slayer, that you might not need the magic recharge." Willow explained.

"Unfortunately I was wrong," she continued as finally the mystic energies around her died out, but she remained levitating.  "The more that you use your magic, the more your fairy half will come into play.  If you stopped using magic today, there might be a chance that you could return to normal… albeit after some magic withdrawal, which is never pretty."

Buffy was startled by this new information, as much as by her father's counterpart's announcement.  "Is there anyway to…to stop it?  This…magic addiction?"

Willow sadly shook her head.  "Fairies _are_ magic.  They tap it naturally.  Most are even a part of nature itself, so your magic will never have the side effects most wizards of your level have.  What makes it an addiction is that you are part human, and humans don't tap magic _naturally_.  My guess is that what happens is that you have to make a connection with each Avalon you visit.  In your home universe, your father probably maintained the energy to you himself.  Here…here you probably just took care of that right now with that visit."

"Something to do, for future reference, is that the moment you get to a new world, unless you're in trouble, but the moment you can do so, go immediately to Avalon, or the fairy equivalent, and establish a connection with it.  That should take care of any problems you'll have."

Buffy nodded, grateful for the sagely advice.

Willow's face became more caring rather than lecture like, "Now, go meditate.  We'll start lessons as soon as you're ready."  Buffy smiled, nodded, and went to sit down and began going through the magic exercises Willow had shown her.

Training Gym, or Thailog's first level of hell

"How ya doin' Big T?" Faith asked from a parallel platform.

Thailog and Buffy, the Gold Slayer, were on one of the outer platforms, as the central one still wasn't fully operational.  The gravity level was almost more than the powerful gargoyle could stand.  Literally, he was almost to his knees.  Buffy however, was walking around like a customer at her mother's art shop, inspecting a piece she was about to buy.

"I'm… grunt… all right, considering the… circumstances… Faith…" Thailog managed to grunt out.

"You're physical strength is impressive Thailog, but that's not what this exercise is about," Buffy explained to him as she continued to walk around him.  "You've felt the Band's power.  You tapped it in your rage and anger, and activated it at your will when you needed it.  I don't really feel like creating the need at the moment, but I'm hoping we can help you figure out how to tap the Band's power _without_ you having to lose your temper beyond all measure."

"Easy for you to say," Thailog grunted.  It was not very hard to differentiate his Buffy from this one.  The emotional bond aside, this one was treating him more like a drill sergeant would and she certainly didn't care too much to try and mother him.

He realized he was starting to get soft.  He had gotten comfortable with Buffy's "mothering" of him, and letting the fact that this version by not was hurting his feelings was just silly.  In fact it made him slightly angry.

"Anger is what we're trying to avoid here Thailog," Buffy calmly told him, continuing to orbit him.  "I know you can feel its power.  Just try and touch it.  It shouldn't be that hard."

"Would you like to try?" he shouted, the frustration giving him enough strength to do so.

Immediately, the gold-hued ki flame flashed around the Slayer as her power shot just as quickly to roughly half of what she had been against Faith the other day.  "See?  Easy," she shot back.

"It's not the same!" he growled.

"It's exactly the same!" Buffy shouted back.  "The only difference is the source.  I tap my life force, you're tapping the band.  The way to do it is the same, I promise you.  Now DO IT!!"

Thailog finally lost it.  Red shone from his eyes, and the growl proceeded to a soft roar in his throat.  Thailog did not have the same qualms about not striking a familiar face, so long as he knew the difference.

He swung at the Gold Slayer, she ducked easily.  He lashed with his tail.  Far too easily in the intensified gravity, she jumped up over six feet to avoid it and landed in her same spot after a fancy back flip.  He tried again to reach for the Band's strength that it had given him against his evil counterpart.  He tried to use his anger, his rage.  Nothing worked.

Finally, Buffy sighed, seeing this wasn't working.  Then an idea seemed to come to her.  She sent to Willow via their own special link, Keep her there.  No matter what she says, or tries to do, even if you have to cage her and call it a test, keep her there.

The moment she received confirmation, she activated her psionic powers, her eyes flashing an electric gold-yellow, and created a no-mental zone in the gym, specifically around the platform Thailog was on.  In short, she blocked the mental and emotional aspect of his and Buffy's link.  The physical aspect was left alone.

Thailog froze stiff when he realized that something had changed.  His eyes widened in horror as he realized that he could no longer feel his Buffy!

He didn't even look at the others, or notice the brief aura of power that came from the other Buffy's eyes, he just ran immediately for the door, only to be stopped by the force field.  He tried the voice commands he'd heard the other's use.  It remained unresponsive.

He slammed his fists against the energy barrier over and over again.  All that happened was a flicker of pressure.  Becoming more enraged by the moment, he walked over to one of the posts, but the moment he tried to touch it, he received a shock that left one side of his body entirely numb.  It didn't matter, he was already numb all throughout his entire body… without Buffy, he had no reason to feel anything at all.

He turned towards the one, the only one that could get him out of this cage so he could get to his beloved.  "Let me out of here!" he demanded.

She stared at him for several moments, and if he hadn't shouted he would have thought she hadn't heard him.  Then she looked thoughtful for half a moment before answering him straight forward, "No."

The same feeling he'd had when his alternate had attacked his Buffy, and insulted her as well, filled him again as the Band began to glow, the bright red flames extending from it, his eyes turning gold.  If not for the magical aspect, he now almost looked exactly like any of the ki users in the gym.

The thousand-gargoyle roar filled and echoed the gym so loudly that it was actually heard _outside_ the house.  Thailog stopped himself enough to demand once more, "Let me out!"  There was no thoughtful look this time, only a sly smirk as Buffy replied, "No."

Moving faster than he ever thought possible for him to move, Thailog streaked across the platform, a bright red trail behind him as he hit the Slayer with the same force he had his evil self.  The same fist of force that had knocked a 400 lbs enhanced gargoyle clone over 100 feet into the air… was caught by the Gold Slayer's palm as she blocked his punch.  The sly smirk never once left her face.

He tried to hit her again, and again.  Each time she blocked him cold.  After the third attempt, she retaliated, landing a solid blow to his face, and then a high kick to his chest, which knocked him back all the way to the force field.

"Ooo, that's gotta hurt," Xander said from the sidelines.  Everyone else in the gym was now sitting on benches, watching the fight.  Cordelia had gotten everyone some popcorn too.

"Are you not going to stop this?" Ta'ruk asked as he declined the popcorn.

"We've all been through worse than this," Faith assured him.  "Even Cordy has had the living shit beaten out of her.  Don't worry.  B knows what she's doing.  And Big T still has his immortality through Chobe.  Or did you not notice that his bloody nose is healing before our eyes?"

Ta'ruk looked again, and was mildly comforted that his friend was not in any true mortal danger.

Thailog got to his feet, the red flame around him became more intense, now a ruby red, the gold still present in his eyes.  He roared again, and charged.  Buffy mostly avoided his hits, although they were now a good deal faster and no doubt more powerful than the ones before.  Those that she didn't avoid, she blocked with the same precision and phenomenal strength as she had blocked the ones before.

He swiped at her with his claws, tried to punch her, kick her, he even tried to strike her with his tail.  He learned the hard way the first time he tried that that he shouldn't have.  She grabbed the appendage the moment he swung it at her, grabbed it _very_ hard, and using the gargoyle's momentum, picked him up by only the grab on his tail, swung him in a tight circle four times over before throwing him back into the force field.

Even Ta'ruk had to wince at that one.

Thailog got back to his feet, the ruby red flames grew slightly, but at the same time became a darker red, and even more intense.  By now the power of the Gargoyle could be sharply felt, even by Ta'ruk's symbiote.  Buffy didn't even look concerned.

"Let me out of here," he growled, his voice surprisingly un-distorted.

Buffy did not answer him.

Snarling, he roared once more, jumped up and extended his wings as he glided in to attack.  Buffy just jumped half a foot off the platform, hovered there for a moment, and then flipped herself inverted in order to kick Thailog in the neck and at the same time propel him into the force field behind her.  She set back down on the platform and turned to face him.

Thailog was back on his feet in a flash and he realized that whatever had happened to his beloved, this Slayer had something to do with it.  The flames now a deep, dark, blood red, his eyes as golden as his body crimson, Thailog retained enough reason in his enraged, empowered form to ask, "What have you done to her?"

That sly smirk came back on her face.  "Well, see it's like this…despite our own little bond, my wife sometimes gets confused when we have other me's over, and she gets us mixed up.  My guess is that she was feeling a little randy after a certain spell and blocked out all psychic transmission to keep me from checking up on her.  Oh, did I mention… she likes to be on top."

In the deepest recesses of his mind, the most primitive part of Thailog's instincts broke free of whatever restraints held it and it took control of the gargoyle.  But not entirely.  Thailog's common sense and higher reasoning remained in enough control that he could strategize his attack on the Slayer.

The flames were so red that for a moment even Buffy thought they were black.  Moving so fast that he left after-images of himself in his wake, Thailog rushed Buffy as a rage and power he had never _imagined_ before filled him.

Buffy blocked his first strike, then avoided the next three.  After that, he began to move so fast that she was forced to block each one, but that sly smirk still never left her face.

Frustration upon the rage built within Thailog as it became far too obvious that no matter his increase in power and success at tapping the Band's strength, the Gold Slayer was just far too skilled for him to defeat.  That became more than obvious when she stopped defending, and went on the attack.

She still blocked his every hit, but before he could make his next, she struck her own blow to his head, and then landed several dozen more against his upper body.  She then started alternating kicks and punches, almost throwing the powerful creature around like a rag doll.  She kicked him severely across the chest and face several times, and then finally knocked him back, _hard_, to the force field.

He got up much slower this time, but he still got up.  When he turned to face his opponent, he saw her standing there, waiting for him, that smirk still on her face.  His frustration and rage grew so much that… something broke.

The golden glow left his eyes, returning them to normal, for him, but the flames remained around him, blood red.  A barrier that had been in his mind from the moment he had first touched the Band came down, an inner voice saying, _'You are ready.'_

A calm born of both understanding and knowledge settled the rage and frustration within him.  Outside, the band began to glow a great deal brighter.  In fact it might be enough that one could call it shining.  It wasn't the red of the flames, but a bright light merely the same color that the Band itself was.

"I do not accuse, I do not judge, and I do not blame." Thailog intoned.  "I am a gargoyle, and I am a protector.  I do not accuse you of harming the innocent.  I do not judge you for what you have done or are doing.  And I do not blame you for standing in my way."

"However," he growled, his eyes shining themselves though no glow came from them as normal, "you are responsible for or are participating in an act of harm against an innocent under my protection."  The golden glow returned.  "For that, I cannot forgive you!"

The Gold Slayer raised her power to match Thailog's sudden rise in strength, and she barely managed to block in time when he hit her.  She was surprised that she actually felt some pain from that though.  Thailog's attacks were now coming as fast as Buffy's blocks had been earlier, and in retaliation, Buffy's ki flame flashed into existence as she started to raise her power higher.

Thailog didn't even let her get the chance and started laying into her as much, actually more than she had beaten him.  She twisted away suddenly, building her power enough and then rushed in with a punch that could have cleaved Thailog in half, stone or not.

Thailog raised the Band before him and the shield suddenly appeared, throwing Buffy back a little as her attack bounced her off of it.  The shield disappeared as quickly as it had appeared and Thailog started laying into her again.  He knocked her back against the force field, and then started throwing punches all over her upper body before ending the combo with an uppercut so powerful it sent her halfway to the ceiling.

Before she could fall back, Thailog spread his wings, and almost actually flying with them, he went to her position and started attacking her again.  He then kicked her with his right foot/talon, and pressed it further into her chest, holding her against the force field.  Then, with the rest of his body, fists, claws, foot, talons, tail and reinforced-bone skull, began beating her.

Maybe a minute, this went on until he finally let go of her with his talon, and she began to fall to the platform in the heavy gravity.  Before she even fell all the way forward, Thailog doubled his fists together and slammed both his arms at the conjoined fists into the top of her back, just below the neck.

She landed with such force on the platform that around the edges, the force field lit up at the pressure waves.  Before Thailog landed, Buffy was already getting to her knees.  She rolled a couple of bones and joints around, noticed her pains, and then touched her fingers to her mouth and felt the blood there from a nosebleed.  It had already healed, but a single drop had made it out of her nostril.

"Not bad," she commented approvingly.  She suddenly vanished as Thailog landed where she had been, rather forcefully.

"But so not good enough," she said behind Thailog and quickly began beating him so many ways that not even the ancient skill, knowledge, and strength of the Gatebuilders could help Thailog out of this.

By the time she was done, Thailog had managed to attack her three more times, doing as much, or more, damage as he had the first time.  But despite all his efforts, she was still more powerful and far more skilled than he was.  The outcome was inevitable.

All right, you can let her out now Buffy told Willow, and the moment she did so, both she and Chobe appeared in teleporting energies in the gym.  Buffy let down the force field around the platform and reverted the gravity to normal.

Chobe of course went immediately to Thailog.  She didn't like what she saw.  "What the hell happened?!" she demanded.

Buffy didn't much care for the tone, given what she'd just been through, but at the same time she was glad to have accomplished her objective.  So, as neutrally as she could tell it, she answered, "I taught him how to use the Band."

Buffy, Child of Oberon, looked up at her mirror image, a cold look in her eye.  "What did you do to him?" she asked quietly with a cold tone.

"Oh don't fret princess," Buffy chafed.  "He's going to be fine!  He's still connected to your healing and immortality in case you didn't notice!  He's just unconscious."

Chobe got to her feet, looking about ready to attack the Gold Slayer.  When she got to less than a foot away, she was suddenly knocked back by a wave of energy so powerful she was knocked silly for several seconds.

When she had enough sense to look again, what she saw terrified her to her very core, Slayer or not.  Standing just less than ten feet in front of her was an energy dynamo that would make an active volcano look tame.

The gold ki flame was so intense that it actually seemed to burn the air, and was over twenty feet high, though still focused around Buffy's body.  Buffy's hair was all going straight up, but so much more than hanging from the ceiling or static electricity up.  Yellow lightning, travelled like energy waves up the Gold Slayer's body, giving the effect a strange combination of power and intensity to it that the other Buffy couldn't really identify.  Also given the ionized content of the air and the feeling of Buffy's power pressing in on everyone in the room, making everything seem much smaller and stuffier.

"Don't even think about it!" the Gold Slayer snapped at her double.  "Not even Willow, at full power using her deadliest spells can beat me.  You don't have a chance!  That's why I'm the most powerful on this team.  And don't you _dare_ forget it Fairy Slayer!"

Half an instant later, after she was sure the threat had been taken seriously, Buffy returned her power level to normal, all the strange effects stopping as she did so.

Next, she knelt next to Thailog and grabbed his shoulder, using her psionic powers to rouse him to consciousness faster.  She shook him gently, he groaned and soon after was getting to his knees.

"Buffy…?" he called out, sounding as beat as he really was.

GS looked up at her counterpart, "He's asking for you," she confirmed.

"No," Thailog corrected, "Actually, I was asking for you."  The next instant his tail flung out and tore the legs right out from under the Gold Slayer, slamming her on her back.

Stunned, she lay there for a moment before mumbling out, "Ow."

"Serves you right for what you just put me through," Thailog growled, with Chobe's help getting to his feet.

Buffy shrugged from her position on the ground and put her hands behind her neck and floated until she was in a position to stand again.  "That?  That's training.  Actually…that was light training," Buffy told him.

He and his companions looked at her in disbelief.  The rest of the Slayer team confirmed it though.  "Told ya," Xander told them.

"What?  Me and B's demo didn't convince you?" Faith asked, sounding surprised.

"That was pretty light compared to our normal training sessions," Willow agreed.

"You did hear the part about me getting the stuffing beat out of me, right?" Cordelia added her two cents.

"Still…" Thailog let it go.

"You had no right to push him that far!" Buffy shouted at the Slayer Team.  "And I thought you weren't supposed to progress things in training!" she aimed at her other self.

GS shrugged.  "I didn't use energy attacks," she admitted.

Thailog startled.  He would have lost either way.  Even with the shield, even if he had been stronger than her, faster, or more skilled, she was fully experienced in using her very energy and life force as weapons, and he was just beginning to learn what they were teaching.

Before his wife could argue any further, he calmed her with a hand on her shoulder.  "They're right Buffy," he told her.  At her confused look and the feelings he received in their renewed bond, he explained, "I know how to use the Band."

That simple sentence that held so much with it was like a cannon in a room where a pin drop sounded like a cannon.  Sensing disbelief, he stood back, and activated the Band as he now knew how to.  The red flames surrounded him and his eyes lit up gold.  He held up the band and the shield came around him.  Then, he extended his wings and actually hovered above the ground for a few seconds before returning himself to normal.

"If not for Buffy's… er, prompting, it probably would have been weeks before I would be able to control it, rather than instinctively activating it whenever you were in danger.  It was… a terrible experience, for sure, but a great good came from it, and we cannot deny that my love." Thailog embraced his wife, and she agreed.  Not with words, but through their bond.

"Now what?" he asked.

"Now we increase you limits, and your skill," GS-Buffy answered him.  "Like I said, that was light training.  We're moving you up a class to Heavy light training."

"I don't suppose that's a joke about heavier gravity?" he asked from his continued embrace with his true love.

"Yeah, well, blame Xander, he came up with it," Buffy said, turning back around to continue training the gargoyle in his new powers.

"You don't have to," his Buffy begged.  "You know how to control it.  We can do the rest on our own."

He caressed her face lovingly.  "Would you stop your training with Willow if it suddenly became painful instead of fun?"  She actually hesitated for a moment, and then shook her head.  She had made a commitment to her best friend's double, and she had to stick to it as long as she could.

"Much good will come of this.  For now, you have your own training to get back to my love."

"But…"

I'm sorry.  But I needed to get him to tap the Band's full potential and the only way he was going to do that was if he thought you were in danger.  Believe it or not, my Trainer got me to do the same thing, but by _actually_ putting Willow and the others in danger.  Life-threatening danger.  I swear, by everything that I hold dear and our friendship, and by Mr. Gordo's continued existence, that I will never block the connection between you two ever again. They heard in their minds.

They softly conversed to one another.  Then made her swear by another dozen things before finally separating and continuing their training for the day.

TBC…

            If you're reading this then guess what? IT WORKED (does bakcflips)! WOO-HOO! YEE-PEE!

 Stay tuned.

Doc.


	11. Home Away form Home pt2

Greeting and Salutations. Alright, peoples, here it is. The last part of 'Home Away From Home' as promised. This is the unedited version. A fully edited one will be up as soon as it is available. I want to thank Joshua for doing this fro me. It's been a real learning experience for me. Thanks mate.

As usual, that which you recognize is not mine. BtVS, Gargoyles and any other names, characters or places, belong to their rightful owners. Fragnar and the Valley of the Dragons belong to the guys and gals over at Wandererverse. Rosesummer's Joshua's, Ta'ruk's mine, and Goran belongs to both of us.

**Chapter 11: _Journey Beginnings_**

Later

_Willow's Workroom_

Buffy turned the page of the book she was reading through, her mind still on what had happened earlier. Unbidden, the memory came forth…

_Earlier_

Buffy was focusing as Willow had taught her the day before, bringing her power far beyond what she normally could have. That amount of power still amazed her, but it didn't stop her worrying about her love. If it hadn't been for Thailog…

Her eyes snapped open as she reached further into that little corner of her mind, only to find it empty. She searched frantically, to find nothing. "Wh-what's going on?" she demanded. Willow looked over from where she was sitting. "Where's Thailog? I-I can't feel him. He's gone, but…Where is he!?"

"Buffy, calm down," Willow said, quickly placing a small shield at the door, and making sure the shields against teleporting were tight. "My Buffy's just putting him through a quick test. Nothing dangerous, she just wants to see what he can do and, at the moment, the only way top do that is for him to think you're in danger."

"But I can't feel him!" Buffy said desperately. What happened next really shocked Willow, to the point where she almost told her wife to stop.

The Traveller backed into a corner and curled up into a fetal position, head between her legs. She began rocking back and forth, whispering, "He's not there anymore. Where is he? I can't find him. Thailog? Where are you? Help me, please. I'm lost."  The reaction was nothing like what Willow had expected. Some anger, some yelling, a little bitch fest maybe. But this…

"Buffy?" she whispered. The half Fey looked up at her, look of betrayal in her eyes.

"Why are you doing this to us?" she whispered, almost begging to be let out. "I have to be with my Guardian. I have to be with him, but…I thought you were my friend," Willow didn't know whether to be hurt by the statement, concerned about the amount of dependency that Buffy seemed to level on Thailog, or amazed at the depth of the emotional and physical bond between the two.

"He'll be fine," she cooed assuringly, but Buffy seemed beyond hearing.

"I can't do this," the girl whispered, "I need my Guardian." It was then that Willow realized what was going on. This was the reason why so many Slayers died early; the physical, emotional and spiritual need for a Slayer to find her Guardian, the hole that could never be filled until the one that could stand with her through it all had been found.  She cursed in several tongues. How could they have been this stupid? She, herself, should have realized this might happen. She was ready to let the girl go when the Gold Slayer sent the message.

All right, you can let her out now. Willow sent a wave of relief through the bond she shared with her Buffy as she let down the various shields she had prepared. She was about to rouse Chobe when the girl disappeared.

"Guess she knows," the Powermage muttered, before disappearing herself.

Now

When Thailog had said it was 'terrible experience' he had no idea how much worse it had been for her. She had kept the memory away, not wanting him to worry, but still…

The reason so many Slayer's died at an early age became so clear to her now. The absolute hopelessness she had experienced when she had lost her connection to Thailog had nearly driven her to extinguish her own existence without hesitation.

She sighed, turning to the next page. It was over now, the feeling of Thailog safely nestled in the back of her mind where he belonged. In her mind, and always her soul. She was about to turn the page when her eyes caught something interesting. A sly grin spread across her face. This had potential.

She quickly read through the information. Oh yeah, definite pay back potential.

_Training Gym (or Thailog's 2nd Level of hell)_

Thailog was breathing heavily. When they had said that earlier was only light training, they hadn't been sugar coating the fact. Despite the power the Band supplied him, he was still having trouble keeping up with the Gold Slayer.

"You alright there?" she asked, not so much from concern then trying to figure out how much more he could take.

"I'm fine," he said, standing straight. "Let us continue," Buffy grinned.

"You've got balls, grape ape," she said with a smile. "I'll give you that," The Slayer charged, fist held back. Thailog prepared for the hit, knowing there was no way he could block it when something extraordinary happened.

For all intents and purposes, the Gold Slayer slowed down.

Impossible, of course, why should she slow down? And yet, she had begun moving at a speed that allowed him to keep up with her attacks.

His eyes became slits as he readied himself. He had to time this exactly right. He crouched lower, watching as she came closer. Then, at the very last second, he dropped, reaching up and grabbing the Gold Slayer by the leg, and then slamming her into the ground.

All movement in the gym ceased for the second time that day.

Thailog looked down at his trainer, shocked at what he had just done.

_"Just relax, big guy,"_ he felt his wife reaching to him. _"I'm just testing a little something I found. Feeling stronger?"_ Thailog finally realized what had happened. His Buffy was feeding power to him somehow. _"Along with a small, undetectable shield around our link. She'll get your surface thoughts, but to her, I'm still concentrating on the book I'm reading. Consider it justifiable payback,"_ A grin spread across Thailog's face. He'd never realized she was such a sneak. _"Thank you."_

"Impressive.  Guess I'll have to start trying a little harder now," GS said with a grin, charging again. This time, Thailog leapt over her, wrapping his tail around her throat as she passed, then flipped, sending her to the other side of the ring.

"Um, how's he doing that?" Xander asked.

"I don't know, but I want to," Faith said with a grin. "He's gone from gettin' whooped, to doin' the whoopin'," The group watched as the combatants charged, this time, Thailog was getting as much as he gave, but he still gave good. A grin was plastered on his face, like he knew something Buffy didn't.

If Willow had looked up, she would have seen a similar grin on her students face.

Thailog threw a vicious left, that missed and a right that didn't. Buffy retaliated with a roundhouse that shook Thailog's jaw. She charged, trying to gain advantage, when the most shocking thing happened.

Thailog disappeared.

"That wasn't speed," Buffy muttered, her eyes darting all around her as she cast her senses out for her latest "pupil".

"It took you long enough," Thailog said from behind. Buffy spun to look at him. "We thought you would have worked it out sooner."

"We…?" Willow, is my double still there?

Yeah. Why? was the answer. Buffy sent the memory of what had just happened. You've been had sweets.

"Alright, how'd you do?" she asked out loud.

"Buffy found a way to feed me energy through our link," Thailog explained, still grinning. "Not the spell she cast. The link between Slayer and Guardian."

"But I…"

"A spell used by mages in a universe whose inhabitants have mental abilities equal, if not greater, than yours," he explained. Buffy took a moment to absorb the information.

"Suddenly glad you guys aren't evil versions or enemies," she said with a smile. "That was cruel."

So was the way you unlocked Thailog's power, her counterpart said through Thailog's mind. Not just because of what Thailog went through, Both Thailog and Gold Slayer were assaulted with the pure helplessness and emptiness that Chobe had gone through.

"My God…" Thailog whispered. GS' face was a mask.

Consider the consequences next time, was the final remark before Chobe broke contact.

"X!  Work with Thailog on Tai Chi!" Buffy shouted as she turned and jumped off the platform, the force field allowing her to pass after a moment.  Once outside, she raised the gravity for Thailog and Warrior X at least another 10 Gs so that Thailog immediately brought the Band to full power, lest he be crushed.

She then walked further into the gym, almost dangerously close to the large Steel door at the back that screamed of danger.  She stopped at a white circle, activated it, and then did something else that brought a small force field over her.  Then gold flames erupted around her as she powered to an impressive level and began her own training.

She was still going at it strong by the time that all the others had called it a day and even Willow and Chobe were done.

Later that same afternoon

"What the hell is wrong with her?!" Buffy screamed as she almost exploded into hers and Willow's room, Willow calmly entering behind her.  They were both still in training outfits, but only Buffy was still covered by sweat, having just finished her training for the day.

"Why'd you quit so early with Thailog?" Willow sagely asked.

"I didn't quit," her wife answered, "I needed a break.  Maybe I should let Xander handle teaching him for a while anyway."

"You're the best, you proved that with Faith, and with Spike.  They don't understand yet.  But did we when we first went to the Compound?"

"They do understand, and a lot better than we did, but that is not why I'm angry," Buffy explained.

Concerned, Willow leaned back against the dresser and cocked her head, silently asking for a better explanation.  Buffy took a deep breath and let out a very long sigh.

"I didn't crumble when it happened to me.  I fought.  Tooth, nail, soul and life.  Why?  Why are we *so* different?" she turned to regard her wife, tears beginning to pool under her eyes.

"Buffy..." Willow got up and went to her love.  "Thailog is her Guardian, it's a..."

"And you're MINE!" Buffy proclaimed.  "I've been in far too many cases where I have nearly lost you, and I did not crumble or give up and beg.  I fought.  Like Thailog did.  And I don't care how or who raised her, she's a Slayer and she should have done the same thing!"

"Oh Buffy..." Willow whispered.

"I think maybe you should give them a couple days off.  Let them get to know this world a bit better.  It'll do all of us some good to get away from training for a little while," Willow said after a minute's silence.

Buffy automatically nodded her head, still looking away, agreeing with the idea.

"Why are we so different?" Buffy asked a final time in a whisper.

The Next Day

Thailog and Buffy were ecstatic to be let off of their training.  At first they were just going to spend the day in the guest house or the Gateway, having some alone time, but Willow suggested that they go around Sunnydale first, seeing what was different and getting some fresh air.  And the Slayer Guardian duo couldn't see a single thing wrong with taking her up on that.

It was daylight and that alone made everything special for Thailog.  They were gliding over Sunnydale, Buffy putting a fairy spell of invisibility to the test, when Buffy suddenly squealed in his arms and pointed down at a children's playground.  Thailog couldn't help it, he laughed as he glided them down towards it.

They landed gently next to the merry-go-round and Buffy took off the spell of invisibility.  "Normally I'd be worried," Buffy admitted as she did so, "but given that we know a powerful psychic, not to mention all of my new training, I think we can handle anybody coming up."

"Still, we shouldn't abuse our hosts hospitality, or your powers," Thailog chastised gently.  He received a too cute for words pout that he just had to kiss off of her face.

"Yeah, but I still wanna play," Buffy said, play-acting a little girl's voice.  She raced over to the swings and asked, "Push me?"  Thailog laughed again and proceeded to do just that.

They stayed at the park for about an hour, until some other people came by to use the park's equipment.

"We have company," Thailog noted as the children came over. Buffy looked in the direction he was.

"Well, there's no parents," Buffy said, hopefully, "Maybe they won't be so bad. Kids are a lot more understanding than adults," Thailog nodded as the children walked towards them.

"It is too," they heard them arguing as they came towards them.

"Come off it," another said, "What would a Gargoyle be doin' in a park pushin' a girl?"

"Maybe it's his girlfriend, I don't know," the first kid said, "I just know it's a Gargoyle. I was in New York during the riots. I know what they look like."

"He looks kinda scary," one little girl said, cuddling up to one of the boys.

"Don't sweat, Kelly," the boy said, "Gargoyles don't hurt people, no matter what those idiots in the Quarrymen or on TV say. We can trust him."

"Not what I expected," Buffy muttered.

"Agreed," Thailog said, "It would seem the riots have given the people of this world reason to trust Gargoyles. We can only hope that people are as accepting in our world." Buffy nodded, as the children got to them.

"Are you a Gargoyle?" The first boy asked. Thailog nodded, "Told ya!"

"I am Thailog," The large Gargoyle said, "and this is…"

"Elizabeth," Buffy said, "There's already one Buffy in this world.  Better to use my given name, as much as I hate it," Thailog could see the wisdom in that.

"Can we play with you guys?" One of the girls asked. Buffy nodded.

"Hey, why not?" The children cheered, gathering around them. Thailog grinned as they began asking for rides.

Buffy pushed the younger children as Thailog took the older ones gliding, two at a time. She shook her head. Never realized he was so good with children, she thought.

"Elizabeth," the youngest girl said, "I wanna fly!" Buffy looked down at her. Why not?

She flexed the smallest part of her magic, sending the small girl a couple of inches into the air.

"YAHOO!" The girl screamed as Buffy brought to Thailog's level.

"Cool!"

"Awesome!"

"Show off," Thailog sent, looking down at her. Buffy giggled as the girl came back to earth gently.

"Thankyou," She said, cuddling the half Fey. Thailog landed among the group around the swings.

Much later, just an hour before sunset, "We have to go," the oldest child said sadly.

"Do we have to?" The youngest whined.

"'Fraid so," she was told.

"Will you be here tomorrow?"

"We'll see," Buffy said, really not knowing.

"G'bye, Elizabeth," the youngest squealed as the children walked home.

"I needed that," Buffy muttered as Thailog wrapped his arms around her, "A reminder, if nothing else."

"We should head home," Thailog said.

Casa de la everyone

"Have fun?" Willow asked from the kitchen table as they walked in the front door. Oh, crap.

"Yeah," Buffy said carefully.

"Good," Willow said, "Thought you needed a break. We can continue your lessons tomorrow. Oh, and Buffy?" The Slayer felt a sting across the back of her head from Willow holding her still in a magical grip, "Next time, please try to be a bit more subtle when you go out.  Just because humanity is aware of gargoyles doesn't mean that they have accepted them.  And we like to keep a low profile in our hometown, so either make Thailog and yourself invisible when flying in or out of here, or just teleport."  Then she turned back to what she was studying before her.

"Well, that went better than I thought it would," Buffy muttered, rubbing the back of her head.

Next day

_Willow's Workroom_

Willow was punishing her for yesterday, Buffy was sure of it. They had begun with the usual meditations, then it seemed she would be left to her own devices as normal. Then Willow had said the words that spelt certain doom.

"Buffy, can I get some help with these shelves? I need to clean them up a bit."

What had followed was three hours of dragging uncountable numbers of tomes, scrolls and other reading materials back and forth, without magic because the tomes and devices themselves repelled spells or it was too dangerous to try. Buffy had been ready to collapse when her eyes fell on a particular book.

"Where did you get this?" Buffy asked, holding up the book in question.  Willow looked at it.

"A friend of ours, his name is Steve St. Wolf, found it in a dig up around Iceland," Willow explained, "I haven't had time to look too much into it though.  Supposedly it's some Norse tome…"

"This isn't Norse," Buffy said, matter of factly, "See these runes here, and here, curve a bit more, and this rune's being used in a way that isn't noted anywhere else. This is Asgardian."

"The Asgard?" Willow said, "But… the Asgard don't exist in this universe."  At the confused look she received she added, "We've checked.  Remember, part of an interdimensional force of Good with highly advanced technology and the ability to travel between dimensions faster than you can with the Gateway?  Called the Compound?  I'm aware of the Asgard as a race, but I've never met them.  And we've looked.  If they do exist, then their galaxy is a lot further away because…well never mind now.  How did you know about Asgard language anyway?"

"Daniel showed me the difference," Buffy said, "Thought it might come in handy if I knew the difference between an earth language, and the alien one it was based on," she shrugged, "Who'd have thought he'd actually be right?"

Willow was thoughtfully quiet for some moments before exclaiming "This means they might have actually existed here.  But what happened to them?  We, or one of the other alien races we're aware of would have known about them before." Buffy thought for a moment, then another thought came to mind.

"Maybe…" she said, slowly, "The Gatebuilders. Maybe one of the branches brought it here. Maybe there's a piece of the Band!"

"Either is possible," Willow said, trying to keep calm outward appearance, "Do you know how to read it?"

"Kinda," Buffy looked at the cover, "I think its some kind of…past…no, hang on, this means…history! History…from, no, of…the…" Buffy stopped, and looked up at Willow, "This is a history of the Alliance of Four Races," Willow's eyebrow arched.  She leaned over the Fey's shoulder and looked at the runes covering it.

"Fascinating," the Powermage breathed, "I've only had this about a week though, so I haven't had time to go through it.  Aside from those runes there, though, there's not really much difference against normal Viking runes.  Are you sure?  About the language I mean?"

"Pretty sure," Buffy said, "Daniel didn't have much time, but he made sure I could recognize anything to do with the Gatebuilders, or the Alliance of Four Races. Don't ask me to translate the rest, I don't have a clue."

In reply, Willow ran a finger along the spine and the top of the book, her eyes closed.  She opened them.  "It's well-protected, translation spells won't work on it," Willow told her, "And yes, I'm sure.  I can tell."  Buffy thought a moment.

"You're sure there's no Stargate program on this earth?" Buffy asked, "Or even a Daniel Jackson. I'd bet he could translate this easily."

"If there is, we haven't run across them," Willow said, "And I'm pretty sure we would have by now."

"Don't be too sure," Buffy muttered, "Security was tight. Real tight. Thailog and me only saw the inside of the complex."

Willow looked hurt for a moment and answered, "Buffy I'm hurt.  You doubt my hacking skills?"  Then she smiled and turned around and started placing other books in a specific order on the shelves.  "First thing I did when I was capable of it, I broke through every level of computer security there is in the United States and about ¾ of the rest of the world's countries.  I also know about Naquada, and trust me, if you think iron is bad for casting magic spells, you don't know jack shit.  Naquada absorbs every kind of energy you through at it, and only gets overloaded when shaped into something that limits its absorption.  Try any magic near a large enough Naquada deposit, and you'll be fully drained before you know it."

Buffy blinked.  _That's_ why she was so drained when she cast that illusion spell in the SGC.  The Stargate, which was made of Naquada, was in just the next room over, and it…

Willow finished placing the books.  "There is no Naquada on this planet, and if there is, it is _highly_ protected, and I mean _highly_.  What I'm teaching you is basics Buffy, I'm on the Advanced levels.  I would know if there were any anywhere on this planet."

Buffy frowned.

"I suppose we could look, although I severely doubt you'll find anything," Willow finally said, exasperated as Buffy opened the book. "Unless you can think of anything else to let you read the book of course."

"Well, I could take it back to the SGC we visited," Buffy suggested, "See if Thor could translate it. Maybe I could convince Daniel to give me a better lesson," she flicked through the pages, stopping on one in particular, "The Band," she whispered, tracing the picture with her finger. This close to info on the Band and…

Buffy's head shot up, "I am such an idiot," she exploded, "The Band. If it's designed to be used by 'one who is of the Builder's but is not', if they thought he might be a clone or something similar, then they may have prepared for this. Maybe the Band can translate it," Willow looked over at her.

"Of course," she muttered, "A security measure so the wrong people can't read it.  Smart.  But what if they also thought that the clone already had the knowledge programmed into him?"

"I…hadn't thought of that," Buffy realized, then her brow furrowed into deeper thinking.  "No, because they all said "One Not of the Builders".  If Thailog was supposed to have this knowledge programmed into him, that would mean the Builders made him, and that would, even though he was cloned, make him "one of the Builders".  I think the key is in the Band."

"Good point," Willow admitted.  Then she smirked slightly and said, "Too bad there's no user manual for that thing."

"Annoying, all right," Buffy muttered, "I'll let Thailog look at it tonight."

"Not tonight," Willow said with a grin, "It's Friday, and that means relaxation.  We hit the Bronze tonight," Buffy's eyes lit up for a few seconds, before a dejected look entered her face.

"Two Buffy's in one Bronze equal Trouble, capital T," she muttered, "Unless…" a smile spread across her face.

"Uh oh," Willow mumbled. She knew that look. That look meant trouble.

"Thailog's gonna love this," Buffy muttered, as she thought about her idea.

Later

Summers' Guesthouse

"What is that?" Thailog asked as he walked in, eyeing the strange tome on the table.

"Something we found in Willow's collection," Buffy said with a grin, "As near as I can tell, it's Asgard."

"Asgard?" Ta'ruk asked as he walked in, "Does this mean they are here?"

"Well, that's what I thought at first," Buffy said, flicking through the pages, "but Willow said that even if they were, they aren't now.  Then we found this," she showed them the page the featured the Band.

"My God," Thailog muttered, "Is this…"

"As far as I know, yep," Buffy confirmed, "Problem is, we can't translate it. No translation spells work. But, I got to thinking, maybe they prepared for this."

"How?" Ta'ruk asked.

"Well," Buffy began, "If they knew that Thailog would be a clone of some description, or that he wouldn't know any of the languages from the Alliance, it's possible that, when they created the Band, they placed something within to translate the language, written or otherwise. If that doesn't work, maybe one of the attachments, when we find it, will be a translator," Thailog thought a moment. The far away look in his eye, along with the distant feeling in his thoughts, told Buffy he was looking within, trying to discover if it were possible.

"Not with the Band alone," he said after awhile. Buffy nodded.

"Then I'll ask Will's if we can borrow this until we find a segment that can translate it," she said. They all agreed, and began preparing for dinner.

_Main house_

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Thailog asked, "Two Buffys may get some attention."

"Other than your's, Big T?" Faith said mischievously.

"Funny, Faith," Chobe said as she, her counterpart and Willow came from upstairs. Everyone's, except Ta'ruk's and Joyce's, jaw dropped. 

Chobe was wearing a pair of tight, white pants, with a loose, black halter-top, with a low cut back and, for some strange reason, no shoes, "No offense to my counterpart, though, but I think he's going to be concentrating on yours truly," she gave him a sly grin, "Unless he wants to sleep on the lounge, that is."

"There's another you here?" Thailog said dumbly. Chobe grinned, patting him on the cheek.

"Good answer, sweetie," she purred. GS smirked.

"I think I'm getting ignored," she muttered silkily. Willow smiled and whispered something in her ear. GS gave a goofy smile matching the one currently plastered on Thailog's face.

She and Willow weren't nothing to look at in their own rights.  Rather than wearing what she had claimed as her "clubbing outfit" when they first met, Buffy was sporting tight black lycra pants that cut off just below the knees with wrap and tie sandals like the ancient Romans wore them, except of gold silk cords and gold painted plastic instead of leather.  She wore no belt, and the pants hung low on her hips.  She wore a transparent yellow blouse, unbuttoned but tied off just below her bust line, leaving her abdomen bare.  Beneath the blouse a sparkly dark blue halter-top could easily be seen.  Her hair was in its normal ponytail, but highlighted with a navy ribbon.

Willow, next to her, was just as breathtaking in an all-green ensemble of four-inch sandal shoes, and a short, risqué incredibly tight mini-dress that ended maybe an inch below the bottom of her waist with a very low neckline and spaghetti straps holding it all up.

"Um, lovebirds," Faith said, "Not to interrupt the love fest, but we still have two Buffys, and that 'distant cousin' routine only works so many times." Chobe grinned and took a step back. The familiar blue glow sprang around her and her form began to change.

Into a Gargoyle.

"My God…" Thailog breathed, "You make…a magnificent Gargoyle."

"You approve then," Chobe said. Thailog smiled down at her.

"Most definitely," he whispered. GS grinned.

"So, shall we?"

"Have fun," Faith called as they all started for the front door.  That stopped the two couples when they realized that Ta'ruk, borrowing some of Xander's lighter fashions in place of his normal armor (Joyce wouldn't allow armor, whether Ta'ruk's Buffy's or anyone's at the dinner table), and Faith were sitting at the table, Faith reading a book while the former Jaffa sat peacefully across from her.

"You're not coming?" Chobe asked.

Faith shook her head then gestured at her own casual accord.  "Nah, it's still too early for me.  I'll probably drop by later after I finish a quick sweep.  No doubt Cor has already dragged poor X there, and they'll be there until about an hour before closing time.  Don't worry about me.  I'll teach Li'l T here how to play Solitaire."

Ta'ruk arched an eyebrow at his mention.

"Are you sure?" Chobe felt slightly bad about leaving Faith and Ta'ruk behind.

"Trust me," GS-Buffy said, grabbing the temporary gargoyle by the shoulders, "Faith always likes to show up around midnight or later, then leave about half an hour after.  They'll be fine, and my dear, sweet, innocent sister might even be able to drag Ta'ruk with her." Buffy added sarcastically.

Chobe grinned and nodded and bid their farewells.  Then they stepped out the front door…into the alley leading up to the entrance to the Bronze.  "What the…?" Thailog exclaimed.

"What?" Willow said innocently to all the looks she received.  It was ruined by the lopsided grin that appeared shortly after.

"I will never let you play poker," Buffy pronounced as they walked up to the line forming in front of the Bouncer at the entrance.

It took all of seven steps from where they magically appeared before the first of the comments started.  First it was just whispers from the other teens and few adults also in the alleyway.  Then the comments came at conversational level.

"Is that a…"

"Are those really…?"

"Gargoyles man!  Freakin' Gargoyles!  Told you…"

"Are-are, are th-they dan-dangerous?"

"Ugh!  I can't believe she wore that!  That so clashes with that tail of hers!"

At that last heard comment, Chobe whirled around, but the snob who had said it had already disappeared into the crowd.  A crowd that was forming over the spectacle of a dark purple and a light peach, male and female gargoyle going to a Southern Californian club, where all the gargoyles that were yet known about in the world were supposed to be in New York City.

"Maybe…this wasn't such a good idea after all…" Chobe began to mumble.

"Maybe you should have put a glamour on Thailog instead of yourself if you wanted less attention," her counterpart countered.  "I totally support the wanting to support you're beau, but if attention is the opposite of what you want, then go for less and fit in."

"Uh huh," was the almost vicious sarcastic snapback.

"Me?  I prefer stares of lust attention instead of media, "I want an autograph of a real superhero" attention," Buffy added just before they got to the entrance.

The bouncer, a large white guy with a skullcap and a bushy mustache stared for about ten seconds at the group before him.  The longest of which at the gargoyles.

Then he focused back on the leading blonde, a look of annoyance and pleading on his face.  "Buffy, please, just keep down on the fighting!  Please!"

"Hey!" Buffy indignantly defended herself, "I never start it, and I…" she received a pinch on the arm from the redhead beside her, "…I promise, no fighting.  Although if someone…" another pinch.  She stopped talking and handed over a hundred-dollar bill.

The bouncer stared at it for a moment, then looked at the group again and finally nodded, as if he had just now gotten some inside joke, and he waved them in.  As the two visitor's passed his whispered, "Don't let the whispers bother you, it would be the same if a celebrity showed up.  And whatever you do, don't dance with the guys that ask Buffy to dance."

Giving him confused looks, they just followed their hosts inside.  _'What do you think that was about?'_ the gargoyle-Buffy asked Thailog telepathically.

_'I think its to say that he trusts us and holds no prejudice against our…my kind.  And that if any bigots do show up, he'll be on our side.  About the dance thing, I have no idea.'_ Thailog replied in kind.

I'm gay remember? they suddenly heard in their minds.  I'm also a hott blonde dressed to kill, or to fuck.  Guys that actually ask me to dance and I say no to are usually ones that don't like being rejected and that leads to violence or other modes of revenge.  Ignore it.

Then, they heard a different thought-voice in their minds, Willow's, That's the best advice.  But knowing Thailog's sense of justice and honor like I've seen, I don't think you'll end up ignoring it.  So just enjoy the evening and do the Bronze thing.

And so they did.  Xander and Cordelia were already here and had reserved an entire booth.  Buffy and Willow immediately went out to the dance floor and smoked it so bad that the Band leader had the sound master play a track of Fire alarms and started a series of songs to heat up the crowd even more.  The couple was the center of attention as they gave whole new meanings of definition and syntax to the term "Dirty Dancing".

The Warrior X and his girlfriend were hott enough in their own right and while they could compete with the Rosenberg/Summers team, they just weren't enough to beat them.  Thailog and his Buffy enjoyed the music for the first couple of tracks but eventually got out on the dance floor themselves and created their own circle of onlookers and admirers.

By the time Faith showed up, everyone was having a great time.

"Hey all, how are things?" Faith asked, decked out to the nines in a black mini-skirt and a tight red baby doll tank top, her hair and make-up immaculately done from when they had all last seen her.  They were all in the booth, taking a momentary breather and refreshment break.

Chobe was about to answer when they all noticed Faith's date for the evening.

"Oh.  My.  Father." Chobe was stunned.

"Ta'ruk, you clean up very nice," GS-Buffy complimented.

"Little T" was in a silk suit, one of Xander's less glaring Hawaiian shirts beneath the jacket, with no tie, and Faith had apparently also gelled the Jaffa's short hair.  He was still stiff as a board, and a rare, but genuine smile on his face made the whole picture very handsome.

"Damn, and I thought my man was the only one that cleaned up that good," Cordy commented, staring with her X-ray fashion vision at the Jaffa.

"She threatened me," were the first words out of Ta'ruk's mouth.  Faith glared hard at him, but those that knew the Dark Slayer best just started laughing.

"I did not!  I warned you.  Besides, you might get lucky tonight.  And you may not be capable of relaxing, but that don't mean you shouldn't mingle with normal people.  Come on, give me a dance and then I'm outta here."  Faith dragged Ta'ruk to the dance floor before he could protest.

Chobe and Thailog were laughing right along with the others.  The "threatening" had worried them for all of two seconds.  They had their own Faith and knew what she was like, and if the all-powerful psychic wasn't stopping this, why should they?  Besides, they had been trying to get their companion to lighten up for days, and this might actually do the trick.

Around 2 AM, they all, except Xander and Cordelia, decided to call it a night and started to walk back 'home'.  Rather than transport them again, Willow suggested that they do a patrol on their way and that was that.

A couple weeks later

"So how are things going with your student?" Buffy asked her wife as they lay in their bed.  As custom, when they were about to sleep in it, all the lights were off and only a light sheet covered the both of them.

Willow snuggled back into her Slayer's spooning form and kissed the hand that was wrapped protectively around her.  "She's progressing very quickly.  There's only so much I can teach her.  Oberon, her father, took care of most of what she needed to know, and what was standard for her to learn.  I'm just filling in what experience of centuries would have given her.  Are you sure about this though Buffy?  Training them like this?  We could have just helped them figure out a couple mysteries and sent them on their way you know."

Buffy began to kiss the redhead's creamy shoulder, enjoying the intimacy despite the unattractive conversation.  She sighed after a moment, "We could do that.  Or, we could listen to the dreams we had the night they arrived and have had every night since."

"You mean that you've had," Willow corrected as the blonde went back to kissing her back.

"You have them at the same moment I do," Buffy pointed out between kisses.  Then she sighed and sat up enough to put her head above the redhead's.  "If we didn't train them, teach them, help them, and promise to do all we could to continue to do so…then they would have a much harder time of things.  It would take them over a decade to get everything they're looking for, and they would lose friends and people they care about during all the conflicts they would come across.  And the dream hasn't changed.  It ends up the same."

"So what difference does training them have to do with it?"

Buffy was silent for a moment.  I'm scared for them.  For her. she admitted quietly.  She's like some sister I never knew I never had, but always will have.  That doesn't make much sense.

No, it doesn't Willow replied in the same way.

But I know, in my gut instinct, that she's important.  They all are.

You're not talking about just Thailog and Ta'ruk are you?

No Buffy shook her head and then laid it back down and rolled onto her back to stare at the ceiling.  Willow turned with her and wrapped the Slayer up in her arms and legs.  I can feel her anger, resentment, guilt…  It's eating her up.  X is trying to help, but she is hiding the truth from him.  In a sick attempt to protect him.  I'm going to let her, you know.

I figured that.  What would you like me to do about it?

"I'm not losing her.  Is there any way, any thing that you can do to…?" Buffy started to ask aloud.

"There are thousands of things I can do, but I will do only one of them.  How's Thailog and Li'l T doing?" Willow answered.

Buffy turned to her wife, a question in her eyes.  Despite it being dark, Willow just shrugged and replied, "It's caught on, like that Chobe thing.  Well?"

Buffy just smirked and turned back to looking at the ceiling as Willow embraced her in the night.  "Ta'ruk is doing very well.  He's refused ki training, but we've been teaching him several martial arts, including kung fu, karate, and mustaba.  His strength is growing as well.  I think Faith likes him."

"Well considering that they've been screwing each other's brains out for the past four days should be plenty of evidence of that," Willow dryly retorted, causing a snicker from her Slayer.

"It's all right, they both understand it's temporary, and it's just embracing another soul in the night, taking comfort in the arms of another.  And having a good time too," Buffy joked.

"How long until she's done?" the Slayer asked.

"I figure about two more days," Willow answered, starting to sound tired.

"Really?  That fast?  Wow.  Maybe she's more of a slayer than I thought," Buffy commented.  She felt Willow suddenly tense against her.  Concerned, she naturally reached out through their link and her connection to her to find out what was wrong.

Buffy also tensed.  Her voice was very angry when she asked, "You didn't give her Slayer training along with the magic training?!"

She didn't need to hear the answer, because she already knew it.  She sighed, letting the anger flow out of her into nothing.  She then sent a psionic command into both her wife's and her own mind.  '_Sleep_'

For the first half of the night, they peacefully enjoyed dreamless sleep.  Until in the hour before dawn, Buffy dreamt, and Willow came along for the ride.

Training Gym, that morning

Thailog wasn't sure, at least not absolutely sure, but it seemed to him that something was troubling his trainer that day.  The Gold Slayer had skipped breakfast and when she came into the gym she was seen yawning and still looking tired.  Add to the fact that she had yet to hit him once…

"Is something wrong?" he asked as he dodged another kick by leaping backwards in the high gravity.

"What makes you ask that?" she retorted, going after him again and he escaped once more.

"You aren't focused, and I have yet to hit the force field even once.  I find it hard to believe that just because I missed yesterday's training session to have normal stone sleep like Willow suggested I do once every week, that you are suddenly this weak and inexperienced." Thailog told her.

Buffy stopped the training session, or at least she stopped attacking him.  She let out a long, low sigh.  "I need to meditate anyway.  You can do your own thing.  Practice with the Band, or the fighting forms you know.  But you might want to do it in someplace else, just warning you."

She then sat down Indian-style and commanded the computer to increment the gravity higher up to 900 gravitons per cubic centimeter.  Thailog quickly rushed off the platform.  The highest he could still move in, let alone survive in, was around 100 gravitons per centimeter, which was about 100 Gs.  And that was with the Band full power too.  900 Gs was suicide to him.

"What's wrong with her?" Thailog asked Cordelia, who other than Ta'ruk, was the only person in the gym.  Xander and Faith were still sleeping as it was a Saturday morning and both had stayed out very late the night before.

Cordelia paused in her own workout and frowned in thought as she considered the meditating Slayer.  "She's worried about something.  Big time worried.  Can't say what, cause I don't have a link like the others do, but I know that when she's this off her game, something big is on her mind."

"Could it be me?" Thailog asked, concerned that it indeed had been something he'd done or not done in his training.  Cordelia immediately shook her head to the negative, dispelling the thought.

"No, you've been doing very well actually.  If they haven't shown you how to use your ki yet, she probably will pretty soon.  They haven't shown me because they aren't allowed to teach it to me, so they train me in the martial arts of our world instead," Cordelia explained.  "I think it's the other one, and not Li'l T."

"What do you mean?" Thailog asked.  He was surprised to discover, after a week of living here, that he no longer compared this young woman to his own Cordelia, and that had opened the gates for a potential friendship.  At least enough they could talk to each other without glares.

Cordelia considered her words for several moments before answering, "From my experiences with her, even after Buffy's talk with her, she still acts like you're going to up and leave her.  We all know that's not happening _at all_, so I start asking myself what could it be?  You guys are in a committed relationship, and then on the equivalent of your honeymoon, you find out that you are "The Chosen One" and have to save an entire race spread out across the multiverse by defeating some Enemy."

Thailog growled his displeasure at the facts, but also acknowledged them.

Cordelia continued, "Normally when faced with an apocalypse, the Buffy I know acts all casual, but only slightly worried about it and mainly focuses on the normal aspects of her life until it's crunch time.  All right, I get the Slayer/Guardian thing, and the interrupted honeymoon bit, but since we've met she's been solely focused on you and _your_ protection."

"Before you interrupt me, I understand a little about the whole Slayer deal, not everything, but a little.  Enough that I know that while a Slayer is all about kill demons, she's also about protecting.  She protects humanity by killing demons." Cordelia paused to take a deep breath.  "This Enemy you're supposed to defeat is nowhere in sight.  That leaves her without a target for her feelings of wanting to protect you.  Now maybe I've just blown this way out of proportion, but from the sounds of it, your Slayer has her priorities severely mixed up.  She isn't supposed to be protecting you.  She's supposed to be protecting humanity."

With that, Cordelia went back to her workout.

Willow's Workroom

"You seem upset," Buffy observed after they had finished their meditating exercises.

"I have only one thing left to teach you, and then your magical training, under me, is done," Willow said, ignoring the question.  "It's a very advanced ability, and most Fey or any other magical creatures, don't learn it naturally until they've lived for at least a whole century.  The ability to _see_ magic.  And not just enchantments or spells or auras placed on an object or person, but to actually _see_ the energy of a spell or whatever as it is being cast or used."

"Really!  Cool!" Buffy exclaimed, eager to learn this new ability.

"First, focus on your breathing and bring your energies to just beneath the surface, don't tap them or bring them out, just have them at the ready.  Feel the magic flowing right under your skin, pumping through your arteries and veins in time with your heartbeat.  Focus on your breathing.  Now, close your eyes for a moment and still breathing, feel the flow of magic in your blood.  Slowly, not too quickly now, begin to have a small portion of your magic gather at the back of your eyes.  Let the energy gather, and build there, until you feel something."  Willow coached.

"I…it tingles, like a really annoying itch," Buffy described, her eyes closed.

"Good, now put more power behind it, slowly though.  We're building up to it.  If it becomes too much and starts to sting…" Willow was interrupted by a sudden "Ow!" and Buffy's face showing pain.  Willow smiled and continued where she left off, "…we'll move on.  You can feel the energy still there, right behind your eyes.  Now, feel every artery and vein in your eyes, and trickling slow, let the built up energy begin to pour through those pathways, until your entire eyes are pulsing with all of the energy you built up.  Then open your eyes."

After a few moments, Buffy opened her eyes, her bright _blue_ eyes.  The pupils had changed to the color of her magic, and the whites were vaguely blue themselves.  Buffy stared for some moments before she knew what she was looking at.  Everything was…so much clearer than before, but at the same time, because of the things she was seeing but hadn't seen before, they were distorted as well.

The mundane objects were as crystal clear as they could be.  The magical…  Oh goddess, the magical!

Willow was a dynamo of conflicting auras and colors.  Rainbow was only the beginning of the hues around the Wiccan.  Some colors around her had no human name and probably couldn't even be comprehended by humans.  Things around the room stood out in highlighted 3-D auras and a few were covered by a haze of the color of their aura.

"Wow…what, what am I…?" Buffy couldn't quite ask as she continued to look around the room.

"The colors indicate the types of magic," Willow explained.  "As a fairy, or part fairy, your mind can comprehend those other types.  Most humans who have this ability only see a bright silver color.  If something is surrounded by a haze or a cloud instead of just an aura then that means that a spell has been placed on it.  If it's just an aura, no haze or cloud, then that means the object is magical and the power it has comes from within.  Take a look at your tiara."

Buffy immediately pulled the protective amulet off and looked at it, her eyes widening in amazement and awe as she looked at the pure white and brightly shining aura of the simple crown.  "White?" Buffy asked, remembering the thing about the colors.

Willow smiled while Buffy replaced the crown.  "White is your natural magic.  Everything _you_ do will be either clear to your eyes, or white.  Other fairies, especially those with the blood of your father, to your eyes when in this condition, will also appear with white auras.  Now, to return your sight to normal, just let the energy you've built up ebb away.  Same as letting go of your magic after meditation."

Buffy closed her eyes and did as instructed.  When she opened them again, they were their normal hazel.  "That was so cool," Buffy said.  Willow smiled, although not as enthusiastically as Buffy knew she could.

"To control the intensity with which you see, just adjust how much energy you build up.  Oh, and just so you know, your eyes glowed when you put in that much energy, and if you put less to the task, they might not glow so much." Willow explained.

Buffy nodded, accepting the information.  Then she realized that on the first try, (like almost all the other things Willow had taught her), she had just completed Willow's final lesson.  "So…does that mean we're done?"  Willow nodded.  Buffy frowned with sadness as the thought of leaving flashed through her mind.

"I'm going to absolutely hate saying goodbye here," she whispered, tears starting.

Willow frowned and immediately snapped, "Oh, you are not leaving yet young lady!  Aside from Thailog, your training is not yet complete."  Then the Wiccan suddenly looked very sheepish and embarrassed.  And guilty.

"Buffy…I've been cheating you," Willow admitted.  Buffy's tears had dried before they'd even fallen at the news they weren't leaving, but this new admission was confusing her.

"Huh?  How so?"

Willow took a deep breath.  "I forgot…that you are not just a Fairy Princess, a half-Fey, half human.  You are also a Slayer.  And to _that_ end, I have failed you.  I've concentrated too much on training your magic, and my guess, so did your father before me.  For who knows how long you've gone without physical training…"

"Starting either this afternoon or tomorrow, it's your choice, my wife will be taking up the rest of your training," Willow pronounced.

Buffy blinked in shock.  "I…I don't believe this…" she muttered.  Willow was quiet, waiting for a further reaction.  Buffy stared into nothing for a couple minutes before she finally grinned and said, "Well, at least I'll get to spend more time with Thailog, right?"

Willow smiled.  That's Buffy all right, always look at the upside.

"Well, it's your graduation, how about we go do something, just you and me?" Willow asked.

Buffy smiled and nodded, "Sure, I'd like that.  What'd you have in mind?"

Willow smirked, "Well, what would you like to do?"

Next Day

Training Gym

"So, you finished?" GS asked as soon as Willow and Chobe walked in.  They were all in workout clothes, even Chobe, who normally would still be wearing the armor and tiara her "father" had given her.  Now she was in a blue version of the girls' leotards.  Willow was also in training attire.

"Yes.  We finished yesterday, and I gave her a passing grade on everything else after testing her for the whole afternoon.  She's all yours, so to speak," the Wiccan told her wife.  GS just smirked and gave the redhead a peck on the cheek and slapped her butt, moving the magic-user along.

"Could you _not_ do that around me, please?" Chobe asked when GS turned her attention on her.

The Gold Slayer shrugged and made an agreeing sound before turning around and guiding the Fairy Slayer to the recently repaired center platform.

"Wills explained the what's what?" she asked as they both jumped up.

Chobe nodded.  "And as much as I know I'm going to hate this, I have to agree with her," she said, "I haven't been training like I should have for a long time now.  Just keep in mind this is a refresher course, okay?"

GS gave her a disbelieving look before mouthing "Right," and smirking a little.

"Since your still starting, I need to feel you out, see what you do know, what you don't, and your endurance.  No magic, no energy, and I won't be increasing my ki any at all.  In fact, I've actually lowered it to 'normal' Slayer levels." GS explained.  "We'll start out at 4 Gs, that's where most people become incapacitated, and both Slayers and vampires lose their strength advantage."

As soon as she said it, the force field flickered into place and the lights on the posts came on and Chobe immediately felt the effects.  Even though she had felt this through her connection to Thailog, it was very different from actually feeling it herself.  She was still standing, and knew she could move, but like her counterpart said, her strength advantage was gone as almost all of her strength went into keeping her on her feet.

"Basic sparring match.  Show me what you've got, I'll only be on defense, but I can still counter and throw you on your butt," GS told her.  Chobe nodded, understanding.  She was also very glad she had foregone the armor in favor of something much lighter.

Chobe got into her ready pose while GS got into her's, and waited for the Fairy Slayer to make her move.  Slowly, they moved towards one another, circling.  Chobe noted, with annoyance, that the other Slayer wasn't having any trouble at all moving in the enhanced gravity, and from the look in her eyes, already had several ways to counter Chobe's first move.

It really had been a long time ago since she had faced her vampire double, the last real fight that she'd had.  Who knows how long she and Thailog spent in the Gateway with her father learning how to use her magic, and then the week with the SGC, and then almost an entire month here with only newbie vamps to give her sport that she could have taken care of when she was still a cheerleader!  She calmed her breathing and remembered everything Giles and the three sisters had taught her and lashed out suddenly with a high-kick.

GS blocked and took a step back while Chobe regained her balance.  She had forgotten about the gravity for just a moment and miscalculated her balance.  She managed not to fall, and get her leg back under her in time and moved to strike again.  This time with fists.

GS blocked, dodged, or turned aside all of her punches, but the Gold Slayer's eyes were still dancing with thought, and she hadn't started insulting her yet, so maybe Chobe was doing better than she thought.  Then, as she threw the sloppiest punch she'd ever done since _before_ she was a cheerleader, Chobe knew the truth.  She was terrible, and GS was just gauging her, trying to see what they needed to work on.  For a moment, just a moment, she almost gave into despair.  Then everything she had learned here snapped back into focus in her mind and she resolved to do her best, and become better than she ever had before.  She might not be able to beat this uber-Buffy, but she would make damn sure that she would be able to kill any more vamp-Buffys she came across, no matter how long they had lived for.

After that, she started to look less like an amateur karate student, and more like a Slayer.

Half an hour later, GS called a halt to the match and stepped back to let Chobe, who had done all of the work while GS blocked or dodged, catch her breath.  At least twice, Chobe had found her butt on the floor from being thrown with simple aikido moves.

It wasn't until she got up, sorely rubbing her bruises that Chobe finally caught a glimpse at the other Slayer's face.  Gulping softly, she thought to herself, _'Oh shit.'_

"Pretty good.  For a Slayer.  Very, very, _very_ pitiful for a Slayer who supposedly fought an evil thousand year old vampire version of herself," GS criticized.  "I'm not even going to bother with everything I found wrong with that, but I'm very certain that you're one of my doubles that absolutely hates being the Slayer and would rather run away and hide behind her boyfriend than kick the ass of a demon that killed one of her best friends!"

All other activity in the room quit immediately.  Chobe just stood there, her face neutral as she took the criticism.  GS wasn't done though.

"First off, we are going to start with endurance training to get your lazy princess ass back into shape!" she shouted, sounding more and more like drill sergeants from the movies.  "_Then_ I'll think about letting up enough to actually teach you something that every Slayer should know after their very first lesson with a Watcher.  Which is if you want to live and make sure that every person you care about also continues to live, then you have to fight and kill the things that would kill you and them first.  After that…I'll get creative.  Thailog is coming along nicely.  Maybe I'll give him an extra hard training session until you finally snap enough to let the real Slayer out to play."

GS turned back around, having been revolving closer and closer around Chobe until she had been standing right in front of her, and now she was walking back to where they had begun.  "10 Gs!  And don't even think about using magic to enhance your body.  Push-ups, then stomach crunches, then I want you running laps around this ring.  I'll tell you when to move on!"

Chobe had already been driven to the ground by the gravity increase, but complied anyway with starting push-ups, even though she could hardly get herself off the platform.

Five days later

_Buffy's 9th Level of Hell_

One school week of constant drill sergeant driven high-gravity exercises later, Chobe felt she was in the best shape of her life.  Her entire body was aching and felt infinitely worse than it looked, but she knew she was stronger.  Slayer and Fey healing aside, she always spent the night in Thailog's arms, and with Willow casting all-purpose healing spells on her shortly after she crawled out of the Gym.

They no longer patrolled, because GS always threatened her that if she was strong enough to patrol, she was strong enough to train some more.  She never liked to patrol anyway, and there were hardly any demons left on the Hellmouth to fight.

Thailog knew that GS was giving her other the exact same treatment that she had given him, and if they were to be believed, the same treatment she had given both Faith and Cordelia whenever she trained them.  And given how advanced Cordelia was that she could actually fight him, a warrior class Gargoyle, one-on-one and win neither Traveller could complain about the advantages that came from the Gold Slayer's training.

He still wished she would lighten up though.

It wasn't until they had all stayed to watch one of her private training sessions under an invisibility and masking spell that they realized that as hard as she was on all of her "pupils", she was twice as hard on herself.

Thailog had almost mistaken her attitude for a martyr, or survivor's guilt syndrome, but he quickly realized his mistake in assumption.  She was a Slayer in everything that she was.  She didn't push or fight because she felt guilty or wanted to die for something.  She pushed herself because she wanted to live, and protect everyone around her and guarantee that they lived as well.  She was a lioness if there were no better description for it.

At the moment, Chobe was just finishing up the last of her endurance exercises for the day, which was five times the amount they had been on the first day.  The entire gym was now held at about 10 Gs, while everyone that worked on the platforms worked under multiples on top of all that.  It was only about 5 pm, a good 3 ½ hours before sunset, and Chobe was surprised that even in a higher gravity and with five times the number of exercises done, she was done much sooner than she had expected to be.

And amazingly, she still felt like she had some energy left over.  Now she had two options, save that energy for patrol and maybe even a threatened late night training session…or use it all up now and get to skip out on patrol again in favor of being held by her beau all through the night.  Decisions, decisions…

"So what's next?" she asked, bouncing over to GS, after she was done.

GS chuckled softly and shook her head, as though Chobe had just told some inside joke.  Though the Fey didn't have a clue what that might have been.  After a moment, the powerful Slayer regarded her with a different look than the normal 'drill-sergeant' one.

She nodded, seemingly pleased with what she saw and answered, "Now we spar again and I see what else we have to do.  You should be able to do better.  You want ki training, now that I'm asking?"

Chobe asked Thailog, who had been shown how to find and raise his own ki, as well as detect other life forces.  He couldn't fly or shoot energy beams yet, but he was starting with the basics.  He agreed that the training could only benefit her, as GS would allow her to augment her body with ki, if not with magic during training sessions.

However, there were other things she had to consider. As much as these abilities intrigued her, they were not for her. She was a Slayer, yes, and she should be strong physically, but since discovering the truth about her father, she had other forces to work with and, Slayer or not, her physical prowess would never be anything close to magical abilities. Besides, if she'd read Willow's books correctly, she had other options open to her. Options that would not have been available to her counter part.

"No," she said, "I don't think it'll be necessary. I'm not relying on Thailog or anything. I just don't think it's really for me to learn that stuff. 'Sides," she added with a sly grin, "By the time we're finished, I might be able to teach you something."

GS just sort of smiled and shrugged, which showed that Chobe declining didn't really bother her.  "Now…" GS began the training, "25 Gs, and come at me with everything you have.  Everything.  You can use magic, both to enhance your body and however else you desire.  Lesson one, begin."

Chobe grinned evilly as she did exactly what her double told her to and pulled out all the stops on her magic.  Enhancing her body to its absolute maximum, as well as throwing out a 'time freeze' spell on the platform area and an 'increase speed' enchantment on herself, Chobe stepped forward to lay out some well-deserved punishment.  She stopped after that step, her eyes widening with fear and she immediately switched to defensive.

GS smiled as Chobe took the handicap she was offering, and powered up to counteract the spell she had cast on the field.  Energy was energy, whether made by magic, science…or a Slayer's life force.

She then blasted forward, her ki flame shining brightly around her as she went on the attack of the suddenly retreating Fey-Slayer.  Chobe stopped retreating about two steps after she'd done so and set her face as the decision to no longer be a coward hiding resolved itself and she put herself in a defensive position and waited for the Gold Slayer's attack.

It came, and a lot harder than she had expected, a punch to Chobe's crossed arms held up in front of her and the Fey was knocked all the way back to the force field.  Momentarily stunned, all she could do was watch for a moment as GS dove down on her again with another attack.

At the very last second, she teleported out of there…but not out of the gym.  She was not going to be a coward any longer.  If this Gold Slayer would push herself to the brink and beyond, then by her Father, this Child of Oberon could do the same.

Mid-teleport, Chobe formed a massive fireball spell, as well as a lightning ball spell in the other hand.  She appeared behind and above GS and fired her spells the moment she was fully corporeal.  GS just dodged them so fast that she seemed to disappear and the next thing Chobe knew was pain.

Before she would have hit the floor, Chobe got herself under control and transferred her downward momentum sideways as she pushed off the platform to dodge the other Slayer's next attack.

Almost before she knew it, GS was right in front of her, going on full attack, but this time Chobe was ready and she retaliated with as good as she got.  As a side effect of going all out with her magic, Chobe had unintentionally placed every lesson the Wiccan had taught her into play, including her last lesson.  Chobe hadn't really noticed, except that it allowed her eyes to actually keep up with the Gold Slayer's movements, and everything else around her was crystal clear.

That is, until just as the Gold Slayer was setting up and performing a roundhouse punch, the Fey Slayer saw a brief flash of silver in the air, and then a brighter flush of silver light throughout the arm the Gold Slayer was throwing at her.

'That's magic!' she realized with shock.  Too shocked to dodge the blow.  She was knocked back to the force field once more, but this time she held up her hands to stop the fight rather than defend herself.

"Stop!" she shouted.  GS stopped the very moment the 's' sound had left her lips.

"What?" GS asked angrily.

Chobe was just as angry.  "You never said that you could use magic!  I know you said I could, but that was to make up for my lack of experience and skills against you.  This is training!  You can't use magic against me when I'm already at a disadvantage."

GS calmed down completely, but her eagerness to fight and anger were entirely replaced with a confusion so profound that Chobe found herself empathizing from just the look on her face.

"What are you talking about Buffy?" Willow asked from the sidelines.  "Gold Slayer didn't use magic.  Not once.  And before you say biased or anything like that, the most magic that my wife can use are simple glamour spells that I've taught everybody.  You know, changing her face or her clothes.  That's the most magic she can do.  I swear."

Now Chobe was the one confused.  "But… that trick you taught me, about seeing magic and stuff…  I saw it!  A flash of silver in the air, and then her arm was covered with some kind of inner, silver, light thingy.  Everything else was like crystal clear.  I saw it!"

Wiccan looked confused and like she pitied her former pupil for about half a moment, before that thoughtful look rested on her face once more.  It grew deeper as Willow concentrated harder on the problem before her.

"Wills…I didn't use magic.  I didn't do anything that I haven't done about a billion times in every other training session," GS-Buffy protested.

"But she saw magic Buffy," Willow pointed out.  "She's Fey, enough that I'll trust her senses and perceptions in a case like this.  That 'trick' she mentioned was aura-sight, and it can't be fooled, or masked, or mistaken for a glare from ceiling lights."

Willow seemed to think on things for a heavy minute and then suddenly snapped from her decision into action.  She stepped up on the platform, after having the force field let her pass, and then walked to the exact center, and began to chant, holding her hands before her as her power gathered.

Chobe gulped.  She had never seen Willow look so intense.  Especially not during their lessons, but even though she knew what kind of power and skill the Wiccan had with magic and other forces, it was entirely different to watch it happen.

Without any special effects, Willow's chant ended, and the moment it did, Chobe's magic stopped working.  Completely.  It wasn't that it was being bound or anything, it just wasn't working.

"I've just erected one of the most powerful magic-nullification fields that I know on this platform.  Because I didn't sacrifice a soul to power it, it will eventually disappear, but for the next half hour, it will remain in full effect.  Now do everything that you just did again.  Tell me if there's a difference Buffy."  Chobe knew she wasn't talking to her.

The blonde Slayers walked back towards one another, and without any preamble whatsoever, they started to attack one another.  For the most part it was pretty straightforward, simple maneuvers.  Then Chobe grinned as she did a "Street Fighter" technique and did a jumping back-flip kick that caught her double on the chin.

It barely fazed the Gold Slayer, but she just savagely grinned and started getting fancy herself.  Chobe managed to keep up, until right at the moment the Gold Slayer was performing a complex and potentially devastating combo, she stopped midway through, allowing the Fey Slayer to step back safely.

"Whoa," GS said in a fearful awe, frozen in the combo.  She stepped back and stared down at herself.

"What is it?  What's wrong Buffy?" Willow asked, concerned.

"That…that move was a lot harder than it normally is.  I mean I had just done it like a few minutes ago before you put up this field but…" She sighed and shook her head defiantly.  "I don't understand this, I've been in null-magic zones before.  If I use magic regularly, why do I only now recognize it?"

Willow thought for a moment, but it was Xander who answered, "Well, maybe because by the time that you're in one and fighting, you're so exhausted that…"

"That I don't even notice the extra strain," Buffy finished, nodding.  "Wills, what do you…"

"I don't know Buffy… I don't know," the Wiccan answered.

Three weeks later

Chobe looked across at Cordelia with a smile, "Honestly, I thought you'd be more of a challenge. I'm not even using magic here," Cordelia shot a grin of her own.

"Is it my fault I don't want to piss off your boyfriend?" she retorted.

"You should be more afraid of me," Buffy said, still grinning, and charging forward. It had taken a little longer than Thailog had for her to realize that this was not the Cordelia she knew. Once that fact had pummeled its way through her brain, the two had formed a fast friendship and Buffy admitted she would miss the girl after leaving.

"Yeah right!  I've seen worse and been beaten to a pulp by your double!  I can handle you!" Cordy retorted as she met the Fey-Slayer's charge.

The two girls hit each other at full tilt, arms and legs flying. A right hook from Buffy was countered by a sidekick from Cordy countered by jab from Buffy, which was blocked and countered and blocked and countered…

Ta'ruk looked over at them from where he was doing his own training. He watched on for a few seconds, and then did something he never would have done when he first arrived.

He joined in.

The two girls were surprised when the Jaffa came in. His fists hit them both squarely on the shoulder, forcing them apart.

"We were sparring here!" Cordelia snapped.

"Yes, we are," Ta'ruk said evenly, striking out again at Cordelia.

"Okay," Cordelia fumed, moving back, "That's it!"

"Wait for me!" Buffy said as they both charged forward. She leapt over the Jaffa as Cordelia began a combination of punches and kicks that would have made the most experienced martial artist in the world hide under their blankets in horror. Ta'ruk managed to keep up, until Buffy landed behind him.

The Slayer had caught up with Cordelia in skill in the month since beginning the physical aspect of her training very rapidly and between the two of them, they easily brought the Jaffa down.

"That'll teach ya," Cordelia said.

"You'd think he'd have learnt after what I did to Belial," Buffy agreed.

"Now that just wasn't nice," Faith said from behind them. They both turned to see her ready for action.

"Now what?" Cordelia asked grimly. Buffy grinned.

"We cheat," she said, opening herself to her magic, while at the same time opening the link between her and Thailog.

She had been experimenting with it for a while and more recently had found that the flow of power that had allowed her to boost Thailog's strength, as well as use her magic through him, was a two way street. Neither of them really took any power from the other. It merely allowed a hidden strength no one had known existed to flow.

Faith suspected something when Buffy's eyes flashed gold before a more permanent blue glow took over.

Cordelia felt new strength flow through her, "Is that you?" she asked. The blonde Slayer grinned.

"By the way, F," she said, still grinning at Faith, "I've got the mojo goin', and me and Thailog are sharing power," with that, she charged, Cordelia not far behind. Faith moved to strike at the half Fey…

…and went straight through her and into Cordelia's fist.

Faith staggered backwards a bit, trying to get her bearings when Buffy appeared to deliver a punch to her gut.

"Alright," Faith muttered, "That's IT!" The last word was a scream as her golden ki flame erupted around her.

"Uh oh," Cordy said. Buffy continued to grin.

"2…1…" the air around Faith erupted in purple energy that doused her ki flame, "Energy Restraining field. I thought it might come in handy," Faith looked over at her.

"You got good," she said, surprised at the improvement. Buffy grinned.

"No, me and Thailog have been working on those moves for ages," Buffy told her, "I just did the easy ones Cordy didn't have to know about in advance. We done yet, 'cause Cordy and me have to get back to training."

"You asked for that one, F," GS said, jumping up on the platform and walking towards them, "And so'd Ta'ruk," she faced her counterpart, "Good strategy, you're learning, that's good.  One question though, doesn't taking all that power from Thailog drain him?"

"Doesn't rely on his power," Chobe admitted, "More some top secret reserve hidden within the Slayer/Guardian link. Ups power to both of us when active. All it took then was to up Cordy to the right level and add some defensive spells in case."

"Like the illusion, cloaking and restraining spells," Willow added, standing off to the side. Buffy looked a little sheepish.

"Just one problem," GS interrupted, she then nodded at Faith who nodded back.

An instant later, Faith started powering up, or trying to at least.  She was practically screaming her head off, but the purple-hued magic field around her didn't change in the slightest.

"What are you trying to do?" Chobe asked.  "There's no way that…" she stopped talking when everyone in the gym felt Faith's power begin to rise, despite the field still being in place.  Then the field began to grow brighter, and even flash and spark against the Dark Slayer a couple times.

Faith's screaming was echoing almost as loud as Thailog's multi-roar could, and a faint, but definitely there, ki flame surrounded her aura.  Thirty seconds later, the flame became a flash of light that briefly hid the Dark Slayer from view, and when everyone could see again, she was standing their normally, her ki flame shining brightly and vividly around her.  Oh, and her hair was now blonde and her eyes were entirely gold except for the black pupils.

Buffy and Ta'ruk staggered back.  They had _never_ felt so much raw power before, and Buffy had never _imagined_ that anybody here had that kind of power.  It was…it was…mind-boggling!

The spell tried one last effort to contain the Dark Slayer, but finally it was just washed away in the backwash of her massive aura of energy.

Chobe was stunned into silence for several moments.

"_If you can't out skill a magic-user, you can always out power 'em,_" The blonde-haired gold-eyed Faith said in a voice that sounded like her own, overlapped or amalgamated with Buffy's.

"And that is the next lesson," GS explained, then nodded at Faith who immediately powered down and returned to normal.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!!" Chobe shouted the moment her senses weren't being overrun by the energy Faith was giving off.

"That," Wiccan answered, sounding very smug, "was a Super Slayer."

Chobe's eyes widened.  "Fuck…"

"It was a good strategy," GS complimented her, "but don't think it's flawless.  There is a way around _every_ trap.  Just because one tool or power you or your enemy has won't work, doesn't mean you, or he, don't have other powers or tools that _will_ work."  Chobe nodded, taking the new lesson to heart.

"Like I said, good strategy," she repeated. She looked between Cordy and Chobe, like she knew something they didn't, "Back to work. And Ta'ruk, Faith?  Don't interrupt again.  And if you want to train with them, remember to _ASK_!"

Later

Dining Room

"I'm having a hard time believing this is Sunnydale," Chobe muttered, "We've been here what…? A month? There has not been a single demon attack or apocalyptic prophecy the whole time. I swear you guys must get the time outside of the Compound as down time. We'd be up to our armpits in old books in our world."

"It's summer," her counterpart told her, "And don't forget that we took out the Mayor like what?  Two months ago?  There's a power vacuum.  A Big Bad like the mayor can't be replaced just like that.  There has to be in fighting first.  Till that's over with, the Hellmouth is a prime vacation spot."

"No kidding," Chobe muttered, "You guys even get any demons around here?"

"One or two," Willow said, "I think someone spread the word there's a third Slayer around."

"Someone has alerted Willy, it seems," Thailog said with a grin.

"He's lucky he's useful," both Buffy's muttered, bringing a bout of laughter from the entire gang. Even Ta'ruk indulged in small chuckle.

"I'm still getting use to that," Joyce said.

"Just be glad I'm not vampy version," Chobe said with disgust, "Real bad fashion sense. Both the one's I've met have got a thing about low cut, leather and black."

"Demon's have sucky taste, so when they get turned, while memories stay behind the demon makes all the fashion choices unfortunately," GS muttered. Both Thailog and Willow barely contained remarks along the lines of 'it wouldn't look too bad', but the thoughts were there, and they earned them mental admonishments from their respective Buffy's.

"Any leads on Buffy's new mojo?" Xander asked, changing the subject. Willow was silent.

"Some," she said, "But not much, and certainly not enough.  And Marduk isn't answering my calls."

"We'll keep an eye out," Chobe said, "Reality hopping, I'm sure we'll find something."

"We still have a few contacts we can ask," GS pointed out. Willow looked thoughtful a moment.

"We still haven't asked Fragnar yet," Willow said.

"We really should introduce you guys to Rosesummer now that I think about it," GS agreed.

"Huh?" Chobe said, "Who's Fragnar and Rosesummer?"

"Fragnar's the leader of the Dragons who live in Dragon Valley," GS explained, "and Rosesummer's a baby Dragon me and Willow sort of adopted.  Fragnar's the one that married us," Chobe looked at her double for a minute.

"So, let me get this straight," she said slowly, "You know a valley full of Dragons, and you didn't think this info might help?"

"Huh?" GS asked, confused.

"There were Dragons among the Gatebuilders," Thailog said, following his beloved's thought, "And you had a book written by the Asgard, with information about the Band," GS looked over at Willow.

"Oops," she said.

"I don't believe this," Willow muttered, berating her own short-sightedness, "I didn't even think that Fragnar's people might be descendants of the Gatebuilders."

"Could've saved some trouble if you weren't so secretive," Chobe said, "But I guess I understand. The Dragons probably want to keep the Valley a secret. Any hunter worth his rifle would be willing to do anything to bag a Dragon. Still, it would have been nice."

"You didn't ask, and it's not something that comes up in everyday conversation!" GS snapped, feeling protective of her wife.  After a moment she apologized, "Sorry," she sighed loudly, "Guess that settles it. Looks like Road Trip to Dragon Valley."

_Next Day_

"So…what are we doing out here again?" Buffy asked.

"We're going to the Dragon's Valley," Buffy answered for the twelfth time, and counting.

"Yeah, but what are we _doing_ out _here_?" she asked for specific clarification.

The Gold Slayer and the Wiccan had woken them all up before the sun had even thought about rising for the day, and started making preparations like they really were going on a road trip.  Buffy, the local, had Buffy, the Traveller, helping her pack about five different suitcases, which all looked identical, except for little monograms on the handles.  Willow was packing magic supplies, and Thailog was stuck embarrassedly holding all the clothes, including the three ladies' undergarments and lingerie.  Chobe still remembered that particular piece GS had claimed as hers that made Thailog almost crimson despite his purple hyde.

At the moment, Buffy and Willow were leading Buffy, Thailog, Ta'ruk, Cordelia and Xander on a hike through the mountainous woods north of Sunnydale.  Cordelia was actually right behind the lesbian couple, while Xander was trailing the gargoyle and Fey Slayer couple, mostly to keep them from falling behind.

"For the last time," Buffy exclaimed, exasperated beyond words, "we're going to Dragon Valley!  Obviously, it's not on any one's map!  Now stop asking the same question, because I promise you now, you'll keep getting the same answer!"

"All right, all right!" Buffy huffed next to Thailog.  "But why don't we just, I don't know, _teleport there?_"

The Wiccan actually stopped and stared at the Child of Oberon for a moment before shaking her head in disgusted pity before continuing on.  She answered Buffy with, "Did it ever occur to you that maybe Dragon Valley _isn't on Earth_?  About a thousand or more years ago the Dragons created their own dimension in which they could live there in peace without having to worry about being hunted by stupid creatures, certain humans among them.  We're going to the portal that will take us to the Dragon's Valley."

"Oh," Buffy mumbled before asking, "So why don't we just teleport _there_?"

"Because there are only four points on this planet where you can reach the Dragon Valley at any time," Willow began to lecture.  "Because this one is so close to the Hellmouth, the Dragons' protections are not as effective as they are in the other places.  So, when I learned of this, I got together with my teachers and we set up a barrier that prevents anything from teleporting or easily finding this particular point."

"Uh huh, but what about that lesson I learned yesterday, about power overload?" Buffy pointed out.

"Yeah?  What about it?" Willow's wife asked.

"Well, you said that if you can't outwit a magic user's skill, which I'm sure no one can…just beat it with power.  Wouldn't that, kinda apply here?"

"Yep, exactly," Willow said with a smile.

"So…"

"Remember that teacher I keep talking about, Marduk?" Willow interrupted her.

"Yeah," Buffy mumbled.

"You know, the _god_ of magic across 50,000 realms?" Willow rubbed it in.  "I brought the problem to him, and he designed the spells needed to keep this place secret and protected.  I constructed it, then _all_ my teachers, along with myself, empowered it."

"What do you mean 'empowered'?" the Child of Oberon asked.

"We turned it on, with all of our magicks combining to do so," Willow answered.

Before she could ask anything more, the other Buffy turned around, still walking in the same direction and told her, "Let's just say, that between the five of them, they _are_ the power of magick.  Think about that for a while."  Then she turned back around and they went the rest of the way in silence.

_Entrance to Dragon Valley_

"OK, we can't teleport _to_ the portal, but we teleport away from it?!" Chobe exclaimed as they appeared before the massive gates big enough for…well, a dragon.

"Depends on which side of the portal you're on," Willow explained.  "The spells I placed to protect the portal are only on the Earth side.  Here, the only thing keeping you from teleporting wherever you like is not knowing where you're going.  Not a problem for you, I know.  You could just ask nature.  This isn't a planet by the way, just a dimension."

"Neat," Chobe acknowledged, examining every detail around them.  The gate and fence were massive, but she thought they wouldn't stand up to much punishment, until she saw the runes carved into them that looked strangely familiar, but different at the same time.

"Definitely the Gatebuilders," Chobe pointed at the runes.

"Protection spells," Willow told her.  "Done by the Dragon Shamans and Mystics.  Every dragon has the potential of magic, but there are very few that have the…############### to utilize powers that run far deeper than human magic."

"What the hell was that!?!" Chobe screeched.  Thailog and Ta'ruk were also looking shocked, while Cordelia just looked confused.

Willow was also confused until her wife answered, "That… was probably a word that cannot be pronounced in the English language.  Willow has been forced to learn many dead languages in her study of magic, and when she gets into lecture format, things that have no English equivalent slip into her speech."

"Oh," Chobe slowly acknowledged.  "Well… it kinda sounded like a lizard's flute, whatever it was.  What's the nearest thing it means?"

"Uh…" Willow looked lost for a moment before shrugging and muttering sourly, "Potential.  That's the closest, but it doesn't mean the same thing.  Not even close actually."

Cordelia looked sharply at Buffy, who in response opened her to the mental link between the team, specifically that between Willow, Xander, and herself.

You haven't told them yet? she asked the moment she could.

No, and we aren't going to.  Not intentionally anyway Buffy answered.

If they find out, they are gonna be majorly pissed at you for keeping it from them.  They've been trying for weeks to translate that book! Cordelia protested.

They want to translate it on their own.  If they wanted help, they would ask for it Buffy said.

Willow! Cordy exclaimed mentally.

She's right, they have to ask.  We can't give them _everything_ on a silver platter.  Only what they need or ask for. Willow said.

Well what did you say when they asked about the book? she asked the Wiccan.

I, uh, I told her translation spells won't work on the book she answered.

So you didn't even hint that maybe _you could translate if for them!_ Cordelia mentally shouted.

The mental conversation was interrupted when the unaware Chobe asked, "So now what happens?"

"Now we knock," Buffy answered as though nothing were going on and then walked up to the immense gate, and lightly tapped on it three times with her knuckles.  Many of the spells on the gate suddenly lit up and the gates opened all on their own…into a vision of paradise.

Aside from the crystal clear blue skies, the emerald and jade hills, and the majestic dark forests, there was everything else to consider.  Not the least of which was the dozen or more dragons flying through the air like fish swim through the sea.

"Oh my…" Chobe and all those that hadn't seen it before were stunned breathless.

"This place is magnificent!" Thailog exclaimed after a moment.

"Come on, we've got quite a hike ahead of us," Buffy told them and led the way into the Valley.

After a moment, Chobe started coughing, but soon quit.  "What was that about?" Thailog asked, worriedly.

"The air's too clean," Buffy answered for her double.  "We're LA girls, remember?  I had the same reaction my first time here."  She stopped and took large lung-full of the clean air.  "Now this is all I like."

"Avalon is like this," Chobe commented as they kept walking.

"Well, if you're right, there's a good reason for that," Willow commented back.

Not five minutes after they had entered the Valley when Willow and Buffy suddenly stopped the group.  "What is it?" Thailog asked.

Buffy sighed, looking at a bright, vivid red dot just visible in the distance.  "Here we go," she said tiredly, like a parent complaining about their children's habit of playing in the mud.

She then floated up several feet, and as they all watched, that red dot in the distance kept getting bigger, and bigger, until it suddenly became quite clear that it was a dragon on the rampage heading straight for them.  When Thailog realized this he moved to protect his Buffy, but also moved Ta'ruk and tried to do the same for the others, out of the way.  They wouldn't budge.  The reason for, though, soon became quite obvious.

The ruby-colored dragon, about the size of a young tiger, flapping madly in an effort to go even faster, slammed into the Gold Slayer, who didn't even try to stop the charge, instead rolling with it, and soon they were rolling on the ground together.

After a moment, the Travellers realized that the dragon was shouting the same words over and over, in English.  "You came!  You came!  You came!"

Buffy was giggling and from appearances was having a bit of roughhousing with the young dragonling.  "Of course we came!  We always come!  And your birthday isn't for another five months Rosy!" Buffy shouted and finally quit "playing" and the both of them got to their feet after untangling.

The dragonling, which could stand on its hind legs as easily as it could on all fours, walked forward with Buffy to rejoin the group.  She stopped just short when she caught sight of Chobe, Ta'ruk, and Thailog.  Her bright hazel green eyes with flecks of emerald in them blinked curiously at them.  The pupils were not 'cats eyes' like they had expected, but except for there being no whites, could have easily been human eyes.

"Who are your friends?" the dragonling asked, her voice sounding remarkably like Buffy's own voice did when she was 3 years old.  Thailog was briefly reminded of the planet where they had gotten the Band, and was promptly elbowed in the gut for it.

"The big grape ape is Thailog, he's a Gargoyle," Buffy answered.  "The Fey next to him is an alternate me whose father is Lord Oberon.  You remember Willow telling you about him, right?"

The dragonling scrunched her face for a moment in thought before answering, "Never trust a Fairy?" she asked, but sounding convinced that was the answer at the same time.

Buffy chuckled, as did a couple others, except of course Chobe, who frowned and crossed her arms like an angry child.  "More like, never trust a Puck.  And don't piss off a Fey.  Especially not Oberon, who is the king of all Fey."  Buffy corrected.

"Oh yeah, I remember that now," the dragonling nodded.

"Good.  The last of the new guys is named Ta'ruk," Buffy pointed him out.  Immediately the dragon dropped to all fours, her eyes began to glow slightly and she began to hiss at Ta'ruk.  Or rather, at Ta'ruk's abdomen.  "Snake!" she hissed angrily.

"Rosesummer!" Willow snapped, and immediately the dragon stopped and sat down, looking like a punished child.

"Don't worry," Buffy said, kneeling down beside Rosesummer, "That's a baby snake.  It can't do any harm.  Sorry about that Li'l T, it's an instinctual reaction."

"It is a good instinct," Ta'ruk nodded.  Then he turned to the dragon and bowed, "I assure you Lady Rosesummer, no offense was taken.  I hate the Goa'uld as much as your people do."

Rosesummer looked up at him and seeing the sincerity there, quickly returned to her seemingly natural perkiness.  She turned and looked up at Buffy and asked, "Are you here to see Fragnar about something?  Since it's not my birthday."

Buffy laughed out loud.  "Would you mind getting Sky Bane and Cloud Brand real fast?  So we don't have to walk all the way to the village."

Rosesummer looked confused for several seconds before she looked at the Travellers and seemed to understand.  "Oh, because of them, and they can't fly?" she asked.

Before Buffy could answer, there was a deliberate cough and everyone turned to see Cordelia standing there.  "And what am I, the luggage?" she asked with a smile.

"CORDY!" Rosesummer screamed and immediately charged the non-immortal woman.

"Whoa there Rosy!" she screamed just before Rosesummer managed to stop her momentum and just leaned heavily on the woman.  "You are so big!  What have you been eating young lady?  Last time I saw you, you were smaller than a dog, and now look at you!"

Rosesummer, at the mention of a dog, started licking Cordelia's face with a extraneous pink tongue.  "All right!  All right!  Enough of that," Cordelia exclaimed after a couple seconds treatment of that.  The ruby dragon got down, but immediately settled back on her haunches as Cordy gestured behind her back at Xander who began opening and looking through one of the packs they had with them.

"Did you bring me something Auntie Cordy?" Rosesummer asked like a grandchild who always expected a gift for doing something good.

Cordelia smirked at the dragon and retorted, "Now what kind of friend of this family would I be if I didn't bring presents?  And don't call me Auntie!  It makes me sound old."

Xander had finally finished rummaging through the case and silently slipped behind Cordelia and slipped something into her hands.  She smiled back at him and then handed the gift to Rosesummer.  It only had a bright red bow on it, but that didn't affect the feeling everyone got when Rosesummer's eyes went excitedly wide.

"Ohmigosh!  Thank you!  Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!" she went straight to hugging Cordelia and then finally took the gift, which was a fireproofed, foot and a half large doll of Godzilla.

Willow, despite being happy at seeing Rosesummer happy, felt the slightest bit cheated.  "You spoil her rotten Cordy," Willow chastised.

Rosesummer looked worriedly at her "mother" and then back as Cordelia as the former cheerleader responded, "Yeah well, it's a non-parent, member of the family's job.  At least that's what all of my aunts told me when they gave me gifts when I was growing up."  There was a momentary silence as everyone, even Chobe and Thailog who had been around long enough to be told, was reminded of what Cordy had lost in the past year.  Her family, broken from the IRS, had pretty much abandoned her, even all those "aunts and uncles" and everyone else.  Her family was the Slayer Team now.

Cordelia didn't let the sad moment last, determined to be a proper doting aunt, she said to Rosy, "Now.  Why don't you show all your friends the present your…" she rolled her eyes, "_Aunt_ Cordy got you?  Aunt is okay, auntie is no way in…"

"Cordy!" Buffy snapped.  "What?" she asked innocently as the dragon giggled, flying off.

Buffy was interrupted from replying as two large shadows flew overhead.  Chobe startled, as did Thailog, his eyes glowing for a moment before it became obvious the shadows were no threat.  Just two dragons bigger than the Chrysler Building landing in front of their little entourage.

"Buffy!" the blue-grey one spoke in a voice that amazingly enough was not booming and didn't sound like it was whispering either.  "Fragnar sent us on ahead when he sensed you enter through the gates.  Of course Rosesummer taking off like a bat out of hell was another big clue."

Buffy giggled some and didn't even bother to speak loudly as she replied, "Cloud Brand, it is an honor to see you again.  Now what the heck have you been up to lately you ole worm?  I heard that Teenya actually went on the dragon equivalent of a date with you?"

Cloud Brand, coughed nervously and by the coloring of his scales around his head, was brightly blushing.  "Uh, (cough), I see you have a couple non-flyers with you today.  Good day to you Lady Cordelia as always."  Cordelia blushed, but didn't say anything.

"Sky Bane will take yourself and the unmarked snake-bearer, as well as your mate to the village, while I'm sure that the Ladies Buffy and Willow would like to accompany their Fey and Gargoyle friends to see Fragnar." Cloud Bane continued, after gesturing to the black scaled, yellow-finned dragon next to him.  Sky Bane nodded regally at Xander and Cordelia.

"Thanks CB," Buffy said, already floating off the ground.  "Wills, you wanna…?"

"No, I'm going to go play doting mother for a while.  If you need me, I'll be there in a flash, okay?" Willow told her wife.

"Okay," Buffy said, leaning in for and receiving a kiss.  The Gold Slayer then hovered over to Thailog.  "Let's just say that it would not be pleasant for either of you if you tried to climb up his side," she said, holding her hand out for the dark purple gargoyle to take.

The couple shared a look for a moment before reluctantly, they both nodded and Thailog took Buffy's hand, while the other Buffy was surrounded by a blue aura, and then picked Thailog up by his other hand.  Together, they lifted him to the back of the blue-grey dragon.

"Comfy?" he asked, leaning his neck back so as to see his passengers.  They easily settled between two of the larger gray scales of his back-fin.

"Uh, you guys might want to _really_ hold on here," Buffy warned them.  She was still floating beside them.

"Well, what about you?" Chobe asked, worried as she got a stronger grip on the scale behind them.

GS smirked.  "I can keep up," she said confidently.

"Okay," Chobe rolled her eyes as the MASSIVE wings on either side lifted and began to flap in effort to lift the large dragon off of the ground and into the air.

Two seemed to do it as they were immediately in the air, and both passengers thought they passed Mach 1 with the third flap of the wings.  That there was a sudden and desperate speed boost with each flap, and as Cloud Brand flapped his wings at least five more times certainly didn't help matters.

What was the most amazing and bizarre thing about it though, was there was a single constant throughout the entire flight.  Buffy, with her golden ki flame flashing brightly around her, stayed in the exact same position in relation to them, except maybe changing her orientation in relation to the ground.

The entire ride was about…two, maybe three minutes at the tops, and most of those minutes were those spent in getting Thailog and Chobe, on and off of the dragon's back.

It wasn't until the mini-windstorm of Cloud Brand's departure did they look around to see where they were.  It appeared that they were in front of a part hut, part cave that could quite easily fit the largest dragon imaginable in it comfortably.  They were a fair distance away from the other collection of buildings that they assumed was the village, but not really that far if you're flying.

There were no trees anywhere nearby, but the grass had been well cared for recently, or maybe even magically had it's growth stymied.  Finally, Chobe and Thailog noticed that Buffy wasn't paying attention to the scenery, but rather the large dragon sitting and calmly staring at them from beside the entrance to the hut.  Chobe gulped, this dragon gave off an immense aura of power, almost as casually as her father did, and from appearance alone he seemed as powerful as he seemed old.  And he was very powerful.

"Fragnar, a pleasure, as always," Buffy greeted him stiffly, like she was speaking to a king or the President of the US.

"Buffy!  How nice of you to visit," Fragnar slowly stepped forward, regarding the newcomers with each movement.  "And you've brought guests."  He stopped short as his eyes rested on Thailog's wrist.  "Very important guests."

"Nice place," Chobe said lightly. Fragnar shrugged.

"It suits my purposes," he said simply. His eyes feel to the Band again, "I have to admit, I didn't think it would arrive in my time."

"Weren't for my father, it probably wouldn't have," Chobe muttered.

"You're father?" Fragnar looked over at the Buffy he knew.

"Slight difference," she explained, "Her father's really Oberon."

"Ah," Fragnar said, "That explains the Fey magic. And you're Guardian's name?"

"I am called Thailog," the Gargoyle in question said, bowing, "It is a pleasure," Fragnar chuckled.

"As formal as any Gargoyle I've met," he said, "If anything, my friend, it should be reversed. We have been waiting for you for a very long time."

"Bringing us back to the topic at hand," Chobe said, "What can you tell us about the Band?"

"Is there anything in particular you need to know?"

"We have discovered its ability increase my own strength," Thailog said, "It's energy shield as well. Are there any other abilities we have yet to discover?" Fragnar sat back, thinking.

"From what I was told," he began, "It is also able to heal the injuries of its bearer and others."

"First bit not necessary," Chobe muttered. Fragnar looked at her questioningly, "Fey Bond Spell," she said simply, "I cast it before we got the Band."

"Ah," Fragnar said, "A good idea."

"Is there anything else we should know?" Thailog asked. In answer, Fragnar turned, pulling a small box out, and placing it in front of them.

"This is yours," he rumbled, "Within are parts of the Band. One will show you the Band's history, along with some idea of the Gatebuilders as well. The others will bring you a step closer to unlocking the Band's true power. What that is, I have no clue."

"You don't know?" Chobe asked incredulously.

"Buffy, it has been some time since our people arrived here," Fragnar explained, "Much of what we knew has been forgotten. There are two ways to discover it's true nature. The knowledge locked within the first piece, or trying it for yourself."

"It may be a good idea to hold that until we know what it does," GS said, "We don't want you blowing holes in the world testing it."

"It may not appreciate it," Chobe muttered, "and I'll cop the brunt of it," this comment brought an interested glance from Fragnar.

"You'll cop the brunt of it?" he asked.

"I can communicate with planets," Chobe explained, "How well depends on the age of the planet. At least, that's what we've discovered so far. If it's too young, I get feelings, but nothing more. At a certain age, when it gains a mind of it's own, I can actually hold conversations with it. Makes life interesting," Fragnar looked down at her shocked, then over at her counter part.

"She can talk to a planet and she calls it 'interesting'," he remarked, "You let Willow get to her, didn't you?"

"She needed to learn how to use her magic a bit better," Gold Slayer said defensively, "What do I know about magic?"

"That's something you should talk with Fragnar about while we're here," Chobe said, reminding her about their discovery, "Me and Thailog are going to look through these attachments, see what we can find."

The two left around the corner leaving Buffy and Fragnar on the latter's "porch" so to speak.

"What did they mean by that?" Fragnar asked, concerned.

Buffy almost told him about her "supposed" natural magic, heavy emphasis on the quotes, but instead she blurted out, "On the last world...they learned that the Slayers were a part of the Gatebuilders, and some of the Builders, like the leaders of certain clans, were so called "Guardians" for these Slayers.  Thailog is her Guardian, and we've confirmed it.  Willow suspected that maybe Slayers were another race of the Gatebuilders and..."

"Buffy, Buffy, Buffy!" Fragnar tried to stall Buffy's babbling.  She stopped and looked up at him sheepishly.  He moved back and lay almost serenely on a shaped rock just outside his home.  Buffy was oddly struck with the image of her grandfather sitting in a wooden rocking chair on the porch from when she was a little girl.

"What is it exactly that you're asking?" he asked patiently.

"Is... what she, they have said about the Gatebuilders and these Guardian's true?  That...that, maybe instead of Watchers or demon hunters or what the hell ever, we're supposed to be being watched over by fairies or stone behemoths or, or..." Buffy was close to tears, but hadn't started crying just yet.

Fragnar watched her for a moment, and let out a hot air sigh.  "You know," he finally said after she could no longer speak, "my sister left the Valley about 18 years ago...this January."

Buffy blinked, startled by this information.

"Rosesummer's mother was a magnificent creature," Fragnar went on.  "Strong, bright, and she had an amazing sense of humor!  And she cared for every living creature that existed, even those we kill and eat.  When she left us, even though she was the youngest of my family, she was old and wise enough to be allowed to do so, when she left, there were talks of why she left."

"She had been having dreams for months before she finally left.  "Feelings" she called them.  I almost forbade her to go when she first asked.  Then I spoke with her, on this same spot if you can believe that.  She didn't have to do much to convince me.  From the day she was hatched, she had me wrapped around her tail."

"What happened?" Buffy finally had to asked.

"You know what happened," Fragnar replied sadly.  "She had a mate.  An Earth dragon that prefers hiding in the skies of Terra rather than staying here in safety.  And she was killed, leaving her only child, where I believe Xander was the first to find her."

Buffy nodded sadly.  She still felt pangs of guilt that she had never met or been able to save Rosesummer's mother.  She froze.  What if...what she felt, weren't pangs of *guilt*?

"Fragnar... what if...?" Buffy started to ask, but he finished the question for her.

"What if my sister, Treyla, was meant to be *your* guardian?"  She could only nod numbly.

"It was one of the deciding factors in letting her go," Fragnar told her.  She looked up at him in shock.  "We may not keep up enough on history to know *everything* our ancestors did, but we still have our legends.  My family has always been the leaders of our kind.  It was a very good chance that Treyla, or I, or any one of our direct cousins would be chosen as Guardian for a Slayer on Earth.  That is also one of the reasons why I insisted on performing the Dragon Blood Fire Ceremony the night that you arrived with Rosesummer's egg, as your reward...and as a way of keeping you alive."

"Willow..." Buffy gasped.

"Yes," Fragnar nodded.  "The blood of Treyla, from Rosesummer's birthing, flows in both of your veins.  But you are Treyla's Slayer.  By making Willow both your mate and your Guardian with that ceremony, you became bonded and you will not lose hope or die because of a demon's treachery against my sister.  In honor of her, it was the least that I could do."

Now Buffy was crying.  "Could...sniffle...could you tell me about her?"

"It would be my pleasure, and my honor," Fragnar said gingerly, getting up and walking with the Gold Slayer back to the Village.

_Outside_

Buffy took a deep breathe of the clean air, "Definitely smells like Avalon," she muttered, "'Cept no beachy smell."

"It is an island," Thailog said cheekily.

"Funny," Buffy said. She looked at the box he was carrying, that seemed bigger in his arms, "Guess it's time to open that, see what Fragnar got ya for Christmas," Thailog rolled his eyes as he opened the box, "Oh wow."

Inside were two devices. One was a blue, oval gem, about half the size of the Band's own gem, in a seemingly gold setting, with buttons on one end, the entire device fitting over the Band. The other looked like a triangle that was a fraction of the Bands size, with a rounded bottom and a hole of sorts, which seemed to fit the sea blue gemstone that sat next to it.

"Oh wow," Buffy said again, "So, which one's got the user manual?" Thailog looked at them a moment, before picking up the larger piece.

"I have a feeling…" he said, placing the device over the Band's stone. It fit into place, the blue gem glowing into life. Thailog reached down, pressing the first button. An image appeared in the gem, which then projected it into the air.

"If you are watching this," a voice said, "then the time has come, and you are the Champion that our people have waited for. The weapon you now have locked around your wrist is the Band of Summoning. It was created by the last of our leaders, to protect ourselves from our enemies. However, we were unable to unlock its full power before Crom and his Elkrar demons attacked, trying to take over the Stargate system we guarded," the image changed to show a large, scaled creature, with gold looking armor and a large sword, surrounded by smaller lizard things.

"Gross," Buffy muttered.

"In desperation, we separated throughout the Multiverse, each taking segments of the Band, so that Crom could not use it for his own purposes.

"The Band is endowed with powerful spirits of myth and legend, as well the spirits of out most powerful and legendary warriors. These spirits can only be summoned with the correct gemstone, like the one included with this viewer," the picture change to show the smaller piece, "By fitting the gems into the Summoning Plates, one can access the spirit within the gem and, using the Bands power, give it physical form, allowing the warrior to fight once more."

"You may be wondering why we were unable to use this power. We were able to summon these warriors, but it's ultimate power… not even the Dragons, the mightiest of our race, could summon the Ultimate Warrior, the legendary Excalibur."

"Excalibur?" Buffy breathed, "I thought that was a sword."

"We discovered that the Band used extraordinary power to summon this warrior, power it did not have. The only way to summon this power was to access the users own ki energy."

"Ki?" Thailog, this time, whispered incredulously.

"It was at that point that Tyme, the greatest of the Elven Artisans and Mystics, had his vision. That one of the Builders, as we were becoming known, but not of the Builders, would come to power and summon Excalibur in the time of greatest need. That One is you, Thailog of Sunnydale. You must search for the four Gems and Plates of Excalibur, and bring them together. You must use what you learn to gain the power necessary to summon Excalibur, end Crom's threat, and bring peace to our people once more. I wish you luck, Chosen One," and with that, the image vanished. Thailog looked at the Band.

"At least we know what it is now," Buffy said.

"And what I must do," Thailog said, "It is well that we stayed here, for I will need these lessons if I am to summon this… Excalibur."

"Okay, reality check," Buffy said, turning to him, "Did you not hear that? Everyone who tried to summon this thing died. You do this…"

"I know," Thailog said, "That is why I must continue traveling. So that I can gather the strength to do so without danger."

"Okay I notice a lack of 'we's' in there," Buffy said, both scared and angry, "You think I'm letting you go off on some half assed quest where I may never see you again?"

"You do not need this, my love," Thailog said softly, "I'm sure Fragnar can help you find your way home."

"No," Buffy said, "I'm not leaving you alone, you can't make me and you know it. I'm coming, and that's final," Thailog smiled slightly.

"Very well," he said, "I know better than to argue with you," he looked into the box, at the second device.

"Maybe we should wait to test it," Buffy said, "Just in case something happens. Fragnar might get a bit peeved if we cave in his home."

"Very well," Thailog said. He looked out across the Valley. Now, he knew what he had to do. Here's hoping it did not cost him anything he was not willing to pay.

_Later that Night, before Dinner_

_Central Square of the Village_

"Ooo, new gadget for your toy!" GS Buffy exclaimed when she saw Chobe and Thailog walking up.

"It is not a toy!" Chobe snapped.

Buffy looked at her, staring for a couple seconds before smiling sympathetically at her double and calmly rubbing her shoulder in a sisterly fashion.  "He can't help it.  He's a guy, and worse, he's a gargoyle which makes him twice as protective as any normal guy.  Hey, you wanna help make dinner?"

"Huh?" Chobe exclaimed as she was suddenly dragged off by the Gold Slayer to a large table in the distance where three or four dragons and a dozen or so human women, who apparently lived in the village that were quite clearly preparing a great deal of food.

"Hey Big T," Willow said coming up behind the Gargoyle, surprising Thailog slightly.  "Watchya doin'?" she asked innocently.

Thailog smiled.  He noticed Rosesummer was right by Willow's side, as were a couple adolescent-appearing dragons.  "At the moment, I'm wondering who all your friends are," he replied.

Willow grinned and quickly introduced all the dragonlings, some of them with very complex names.  Rosesummer's was actually the easiest and most normal name among them actually.

"New gadget for your toy, huh?" Willow finally observed after the introductions had been made.

Thailog couldn't help laughing.  "You know, your wife made the exact same comment when she saw it," he told her.

Willow paused, but it was Rosesummer who said, "Mamma's hiding her feelings from Mama Willow.  Fragnar just told us that he told Mamma that my, my bi-bi-bio..."

"Rosesummer's biological mother was Buffy's intended Guardian, as you are..." Willow briefly grinned before her face settled once more into seriousness, "...Chobe's Guardian.  The marriage ceremony that bound us together... automatically made *me* Buffy's Guardian.  I think she's trying to put on a brave face so to speak for my benefit."

Thailog, surprised and depressed by the news, as the only logical assumption was that Buffy's true Guardian had been killed before she and Buffy could meet, sadly observed, "They are a great deal alike."

"No they aren't," Willow snapped harshly.

Before she could elaborate, she turned to the dragonlings and speaking in a kind of language that was as much grunting, growling, and howling as it was a language, and once she had finished, they all ran off, even Rosesummer, to a large hut that looked kind of like a community bath house to Thailog.

"What did you mean by that?" Thailog asked once they were alone.

"Remember when Buffy forced you to access the Band's power?" Willow asked.

Thailog nodded.

"That despair hole your Buffy crawled inside of, the one that paralyzed her with terror and need because she didn't know what happened to you?  I've felt that before."

Thailog stopped for a moment before racing to catch up to the briskly walking Wiccan.  "Wait a moment, what do you mean by that?"

Willow sighed and rolled her eyes at the repeated question but answered, "On at least two separate occasions since I've been married to Buffy, since I've been bonded to her as her Guardian.  In the aftermath of the disasters, that same *TERRIFIED NEED* that your's felt, I felt coming off of her in the aftermath."

They were at the edge of the Village now, but Willow wasn't stopping and Thailog wanted to hear this.  "The first time was during a Tournament.  We've told you about that.  I was...knocked out.  Almost killed in fact.  Buffy couldn't feel me through our link any more.  She couldn't even hear a pulse and by all accounts I should have or could have died from that attack.  But she didn't crawl into a shell of despair and doubt and begging.  She lost it."

"Your Buffy saw me as a vampire and went into a subconscious catatonia," Willow went on.  "My Buffy felt exactly what you felt that day, every single emotion and probably some you couldn't fathom.  And she went totally nuts.  You think you've seen her power?  You have no idea.  She almost blew up the whole damn dimension we were fighting in.  Not the arena or the stadium or the continent the stadium was on.  The Whole.  Damn.  Dimension."

Thailog gulped.  "Damn," he cursed.

"Well, she couldn't do that here.  For one thing...ah, never mind, it's too complicated to explain in one sitting.  My point is..."

"They are not as alike as they seem," Thailog finished for her.  "What would you have me do?  Demand that she go into the Slayer catatonia every time we can't feel each other?!"

"No," Willow answered simply, stopping to look the red-eyed Gargoyle in the eye.  "Get her to realize she is not *JUST* a Fairy Princess.  She's a Slayer.  And Slayers kill.  It happens and it's what they're good at.  The sooner she accepts that, the further away she'll be from that catatonia you're so worried about.  Then maybe she can kill the next vampire version of a close friend you come across.  And just maybe, she can unlock her full potential before it's too late."

"Too late for what?" Thailog demanded to know.

Willow sighed and was silent for a long time.  Finally, she started to slowly walk back towards the Village, Thailog staying by her side for the moment.

"The night you two got to our universe...and every night since... Buffy and I have been having a dream," Willow admitted.  "The same dream, but with subtle differences as each day passes.  It's a series of possibilities, of paths to choose.  That first night... the dream was just us talking and then you going off on your hunt for the next part of the Band without our help.  The only result with that was that you die and your Buffy goes insane, killing the thing that killed you and corrupting herself and her magic until she's an even bigger threat than the one you face now."

"The night after we started your training...the dream changed.  Possibilities started popping up.  Too many to start saying, but..."

"But what?" Thailog finally asked.

"But the dream is still *ending* the same," Willow told him.  "That darkness within her, your Buffy, is the Slayer uncontrolled!  The Slayer catatonia as you call it, boosted by everything you'll go through and her own magic.  Unless you can help her learn to *accept* what she is, a Slayer, there's no chance of changing where you'll end up.  Once she accepts it, she can learn to start *controlling* it, the most primitive part of herself.  My Buffy's already done that!  Yours can too, but she needs your help to start down that path."

"I wonder..." Thailog briefly mused.

"If prophetic dreams are a Slayer/Guardian thing?" Willow asked.  He nodded.  She shook her head.  "It's a Slayer thing.  I just get to share in it because of our link.  Look.  The Compound warning us aside, it was because Buffy had several dreams outlining what *might* happen that finally forced her to quit her relationship with our Angel.  And we are all a lot happier that 'Angelus' never happened here.  Are you going to ignore this warning too?"

Thailog couldn't answer her just yet, and was prevented from doing so by the dinner horn being blown, calling all those in the Valley to the community dinner in honor of guests being present.

_Buffy and Thailog's hut._

"Quite a night," Buffy said as she and Thailog entered their lodgings for the night.

"Yes," Thailog said, still slightly distracted by his conversation with Willow.

"You want to talk about it?"

"What?" He asked absently.

"Your conversation with Willow," he stopped and stared at her, "It kinda got blasted into my brain. Kinda made it hard to concentrate."

"I'm sorry," he muttered.

"Don't be," she said, cuddling up to him, "I needed to know. We both did," Thailog nodded, "You're worried," it wasn't a question.

"I'm beginning to wonder if taking you along is wise," he said.

"You think I'll be able to feel you across dimensions?" Buffy asked.

"Probably not," he said. Buffy nodded and they walked further in, sitting on their bed.

"I've been looking at that moment," she said, "Trying to figure out why I reacted so differently."

"Buffy…"

"I think Willow's only partly right," Buffy continued, "It's true, I don't accept the Slayer part of me. Hell, I run from it every chance I get. But it's not the only reason," she took a breath, "Just before I… sunk, I thought about all the other times I lost people. When mom and dad divorced, my first boyfriend breaking up with my machine, Pike taking off on his bike after Lothos, Merrick… Angel."

"Buffy," he wrapped an arm and wing around her, "Listen to me. I will never leave you. Ever. Those things were beyond your control…"

"Were they?" She asked, "If I'd accepted the Slayer from the start, Merrick may still be alive…"

"Buffy…"

"If I'd done things differently…"

"Buffy!" Her head snapped up, locking with his eyes, "I don't know why you're being so rough on yourself. Some things happen. Don't let them frighten you. Use them to make you stronger."

"But…"

"Listen to me," he said softly, "We are one. I will never, ever leave you. If you ever, ever need my help, call. I will always be with you. Promise," Buffy cuddled up to him, shifting herself until she sat on his lap.

"Thank you."

_The next morning._

"Sleep well?" GS asked as her counter part and Thailog left their hut.  It was early morning the sun not even fully risen yet.  Thailog, of course, was wearing his amulet.

"Like a baby," Chobe said, stretching like a pampered cat, drawing in Thailog's appreciative stare.

"You mean you two slept?" Cordelia said with a grin.  She and Xander were coming from the direction of their own hut, Xander only in those black vinyl pants of his and boots.  She was wearing what appeared to be only a towel wrapped around her like a Hawaiian dress.

"Yup," Chobe said truthfully, "Last night was all talk. Which means he owes me tonight," this comment brought chuckles from their friends, "So, what's on the agenda today?"

"Actually, I was hoping I could talk you into testing the Band," Fragnar said, coming up to the conversation, "I'm sure you discovered something about it yesterday."

"Yes," Thailog said, slipping his hand in the pouch that held the Summoning Plate, gem, viewer and the talisman that powered his amulet. He pulled the Plate out, gem in place and fixed it to the Band, "If you are sure…?"

"I have been waiting since I was handed the chest to see what it did," the dragon said with an unmistakable grin, "I am sure."

"Very well," he said, touching the gem with his finger.

The Band's large stone glowed that familiar red, before settling on a blue the matched the gem. Light shot from it, showing a blue field in front of them.

"Looks like a wormhole," Chobe muttered. The blue field rippled, the exploded outward, releasing an armored figure, holding a large shield. The field faded back into the Band, leaving them all with a better look at the warrior.

The warrior was, to the shock of all but the women, female, her armor fitting her curves perfectly. The large shield held a symbol that looked like the symbol for the SGC, only with a sword in the centre of the pyramid. Long, black hair hung down her back, the rest of her head covered in a featureless helmet.

"Who summons me?" she demanded. Thailog stepped forward.

"I do," he said, "I am Thailog of Sunnydale, bearer of the Band of Summoning," Chobe felt a swell of pride within her as he announced himself. He even sounded like a leader.

"I am Steelos," the warrior woman said, "Slayer to Theros, head of the Council of Builders. I am the Shield Bearer of Light, mistress of Slayer Shield. Who is your Slayer, Guardian?" Chobe stepped forward, not liking the way Steelos spoke to her beau.

"I am," she said, "I am Elizabeth Summers, Slayer to Thailog of Sunnydale. Daughter of Oberon, Lord of Avalon and King of the Fey," Steelos looked her up and down, then turned to Thailog.

"I need to speak to your Slayer, Guardian," she said, "Then I will return to my rest," she turned to Buffy, "Come. We must speak alone."

"Alright," Buffy said. This Steelos came from the Band, Buffy thought as they walked away from the group. She couldn't hurt her, right?

"What do you think?" the remaining Buffy asked no one in particular.

"Steelos will not hurt her," Thailog said, "Not unless she wishes me to crush her gem."

Buffy turned an looked at him and shook her head.  "Not what I meant.  What do you think of Ancient Slayer from the distant past, versus Daughter of Oberon, trained by the Wiccan and me, Slayer from Sunnydale in the 21st Century?"  Willow couldn't help it, she burst out giggling.

"So, what's up?" Buffy asked. Steelos turned to her.

"I was about to ask you the same question," Steelos said, "You do not like being the Slayer." It wasn't a question.

"How did you…?"

"It was in your stance," Steelos said, simply, "Your counter part stands like a true Slayer, accepting what she is. You… it is there, but it is hidden. You want nothing to do with your destiny."

"What has that…" Buffy began, before finding herself dodging Steelos' foot, "What the hell do you think you are doing?"

"You are not worthy of being his Slayer," Steelos said, striking out again, "Only a true Slayer should guard the Bearer of the Band."

"And beating the crap out of me proves what, exactly?" Her answer was the edge of Steelos' shield in her gut. Buffy fell, then rolled to her feet. Her skin began to take on an almost metallic look, "Alright, that's it! That's all I can stand! I don't know who the hell you think you are telling me whether or not I'm 'worthy' of Thailog, but you can cram it up your ass," she rushed forward, ducking around Steelos' shield and ramming her now metal plated fist into her gut, denting it, "All I've had since I got here are lectures on how I should 'improve myself', how I'm going to get someone killed if I don't get it together. Well, is this together enough for you?" Her knee came up, knocking Steelos' back, "Is this hard enough for you?" Her fist came in again, this time knocking the Slayer Spirit down, "Is this Slayer enough for you?" She stood over the fallen Slayer, glaring down at her, "Is this what you wanted?" She said darkly, "The Slayer? Well, congratulations, it worked," her face softened, her skin returning to its normal color, "Thank you."

"Your welcome," Steelos said, getting to her feet, "I expected it take a little longer though."

"I've already had the whole 'accept the Slayer' thing rammed into my head," Buffy told her, "I guess you're little speech drove it home. Hearing it from another Slayer whom I've never met anywhere or when… guess it got the job done," Steelos nodded.

"As long as you realize the truth," Steelos said, "You are a Slayer. You have responsibilities to others, and to your Guardian. These are things you must never forget. Come, we had best be getting back."

"Yeah, Thailog'll spit when he realizes what happened," Buffy said as they moved off.

"What the hell does she think she's doing?" Thailog hissed.

"What?  Are you kidding me?  I knew what Steel girl had planned the moment she gave Chobe the "Eye".  Oh, don't worry, she can handle it," the present Buffy added when the gargoyle gave her a worried look.

"What's going on?" Cordelia asked, unable to sense what was happening as all the others could.

"Chobe's getting some sense beaten into her," Willow said evenly.

"WHAT? Is this bitch nuts?"

"No," Thailog said, his angry expression relaxed by a grin, "She is the only one that could make her accept it," Buffy shook her head.

"You mean all I had to do was get some ancient Slayer to kick the crap out of her?" she asked, "I'll be sure to remember that one for next time."

"Come again?" Xander said, "This is a good thing?"

"She has accepted the Slayer," Thailog said, still finding it hard believing it himself, "She understands and accepts that part of her."

"Here they come," Ta'ruk said, pointing to the two Slayers walking towards them. Thailog moved quickly to his beloved's side.

"Are you…?"

"I'm good," Buffy said, her eyes locking with her counterpart's. There was grin on her face, like she had accomplished something. The Daughter of Oberon, however, was not too sure.

Memories of what had happened with Angel, Merrick, even Cordelia still plagued her, and she couldn't shake this feeling she still had a ways to go.

She had taken her first step, though. That was the important thing.

"It is time for me to return to the gem," Steelos said, "If you need me, Guardian, call. Slayer," she looked at Buffy with great seriousness, "remember what you have learned today. Never forget who and what you are."

"I will remember," Buffy said, bowing respectfully, "Thank you," Steelos nodded, then began to shimmer. The Band let out a blue beam, which hit Steelos square in the chest. The Shield Bearer split into many points of light, which were then drawn into the Band. The blue glow died, leaving the main stone dark. Steelos' gem continued to glow a light blue.

Buffy took a breath. She would remember, "So," she said, turning to her counterpart, "what's next?"

"Well, if the sole purpose of your visit was for the Band," Fragnar answered, "I believe that concludes your official business here.  You are, of course, more than welcome to stay, and to return at any time that you wish.  Just be sure to knock first," the dragon chuckled slightly, Buffy and Willow joining in.

"Well, uh, thank you Fragnar," Thailog's Buffy thanked the leader of the dragons.

GS Buffy just shrugged at her.  "We'll stay one more day, then we'll head back," she decided and everyone of the group agreed.

_3 days later_

_Casa de la Summers'_

The Gold Slayer and Warrior X were just putting Thailog through the last tests of his ki training.  Anything and everything else he would have to do on his own, in particular increasing his strength and power.  Willow, in addition to giving him a couple spare amulets, either for himself or other Gargoyles they would meet in their travels, she gave him what they called a GEO belt.

Gravity Enhancing Object.  It would allow him to keep up his increased gravity training without the need of a Gravity Gym.  She also gave him some clothing options besides the solid black body armor that his world's Halcion Renard had given him, including a highly polished (magically protected) version of the metallic armor that his double on this world wore.  Some of the bonuses she put on the GEO belt was several pockets and pouches that connected to dimensional pockets that could store anything, virtually without limit.

While GS and X were busy with Thailog, Faith was meanwhile sparring with Chobe, testing how far the girl had come in her time.  Which, as far as being a Slayer went, was impressive. Cordelia was helping Joyce in the kitchen, preparing snacks for everyone once their training was finished, when all of a sudden, there was a loud crash upstairs, then a shout of surprise.  Before Joyce or Cordelia could go and find out what had happened, Willow came bursting down the stairs, too stunned to be moving at top speed, but if she were a normal human, most would think she was moving as fast as a human could move.

Confused and concerned, the two mortal women followed her as she raced for the Gym and followed her worriedly as she raced up to the platforms where the Travellers were working out.  Ta'ruk was doing his own thing on another platform from the others.

Buffy suddenly stopped all training sessions as she got an impression of Willow's emotional state.  "Wills?!  What's wrong?" Buffy near-shouted once everyone had stopped.

Instead of answering, Willow shouted at the ceiling, "Computer!  End all Battle programs!  Now!"  Immediately, all power cut to the gravity generators, both in the platforms, and around the gym.

Everyone was instantly concerned over what was going on and jumped down to see what the matter was.  "Will?  What is it?" Xander asked the moment his feet touched the floor.

Willow waited until everyone was close by, and she had caught her breath.  Once she had, she held out her right hand, and unclosed the fist.  In it was a purple jewel.  Everyone that had already seen the last piece of the Band gasped in shock, especially when the gem began to glow a deep purple at the exact same time the Band starting glowing a deep red.

"I found it in a case of rare stones that I've kept ever since I was little. Recently, I discovered that most of those stones held an inlaid amount of magic potential.  I went back and thought of when I had added this to my collection. I got it the same day I got that book from David Xanatos." Willow explained.

"Xanatos!" Thailog exclaimed in his usual distrust.  Willow shook her head.

"He sent me everything that they found at the site Thailog," she admonished.  "I cleared what was not mystical, and kept what was until I could discover it's true purpose.  The book, this jewel, and a couple of other things that I've already identified and classified.  The book and this are the only things that I hadn't been able to figure out."

"Talk about coincidences," Chobe muttered.

"Maybe not," both Buffy and Willow responded together.

"Look, this is probably the safest place on the continent, if not the planet," Buffy exclaimed after a full minute of uncomfortable silence.  "It would be better to find out if this is a Summoning jewel or not…before you guys have to leave.  Because as great as it is having you here? We all know you'll eventually have to move on."

"Yeah, but we still haven't figured out about your magic or whatever," her double pointed out.

Buffy smiled at her.  "No offense, but we can handle that on our own.  You all have enough on your plate as it is to deal with.  Now, Thailog, slap that thing in and see if it's the real deal.  Then maybe Willow can find out if there are any others on this planet, and maybe even if there are any on other planets."

Surprised by that statement, Thailog shrugged it off and pulled out the summoning plate, fixing it into place. He removed Steelos' gem and replaced to the purple jewel Willow gave him. He pressed it gently, causing the jewel, and the main gem on the band to glow.

Again the beam shot out, this time purple. The room around them blackened, making it almost seem it was night.

"This seems… familiar," Thailog muttered. His confusion deepened as a shape formed in the purple beam. A shape frozen in stone.

A Gargoyle.

"Oh… wow," Chobe muttered as cracks began to form on the statues body, "Here it comes," she muttered.

The Gargoyle lived up to her expectations as its stone skin exploded outward. The stone pieces vanished before hitting the ground, leaving a dirt brown Gargoyle with piercing blue eyes, intricate armor and a large sword sheathed at his back.

"Guardian," he said, turning to Thailog, "It has been some time. I was some what fearful you would never arrive."

"I apologize for my lateness," Thailog said with a grin, at the same time wondering why this one seemed so familiar.

"I suppose I can forgive you," the Spirit said. His eyes moved to Thailog's Slayer, "At least your taste in women has not faded with our body."

"Our…" it took Thailog a moment to realize what was happening, "You are one of the ones that attempted to Summoned Excalibur."

"I was the one that got closest," the Gargoyle said, "I was the last to attempt it before Tyme made his prophecy. My life essence, my past, my life, all were placed into the gem you have unlocked, but not before Tyme revealed the identity of the coming Champion."

"So… Thailog is a reincarnation of… you, or your soul?" Willow hazarded a guess.

"Something like that," the Gargoyle said, "Actually, Thailog is me. In his dimension, at least. I am Tailarn, Master of the Crimson Blade."

"Oh, so some kind of alternate version," Xander proposed before muttering to Cordy, "That actually kinda makes sense."

"I didn't believe it," Faith muttered, "Hell, I just saw it and I still don't believe it," Tailarn grinned.

"It is true, Slayer," he said. He looked around him and his grin grew even more, "You surround yourself in beauty, Thailog. I'm impressed."

"And I'd better be the only 'beauty' he notices," Chobe said, half joking.

"I assure you…" Tailarn stopped when he laid eyes on Cordelia, "By the Ancients… Acie?"

Cordelia started when she realized he was looking at her.  "Uh, I don't know who the heck you're talking to pal, but my name is Cordelia."  She also took half a step back so that Xander was between her and the Summoned Gargoyle.

Tailarn stared for several seconds before his face fell a little and he apologized, "I'm sorry, it's just that you reminded me of someone that I…I'm sorry."  He then turned back to Thailog.  "I can tell just from looking at you that you have what it takes to defeat Crom and destroy his minions.  You have much more strength than I did when I tried to use the Summoning Band.  Yes, all we need to do now is to gather the four pieces of Excalibur.  They were broken apart from…well, from my attempt at using them, but they have lost none of their power."

"Any clue as to where we'll find these pieces?" Chobe asked.

"If I know my people, and I'd like to think I do," Tailarn said with a lopsided grin, "they would give each piece to the most trustworthy and powerful Guardians there were.  Queen Serenity of the Fey, Master Zordon of the Ancients, Al Gin of the Djinn, and Pyre of the Dragons.  They were the wisest and the greatest of the Guardians.  But…I do not know what happened to them, or where they might have gone."

"Well back to square one," Chobe muttered bitterly.

"Not quite my dear," Thailog corrected, "We have two new powerful allies, and we know what the Band was created for and what it can do.  We know the name of our enemy, and who to seek in order to find what we need to complete this quest."

Chobe smiled and cuddled with her Guardian briefly.  "You're right.  OK then.  Uh, Tailarn, uh, any hints about Excalibur for Thailog when he actually tries to use it?"

Tailarn nodded, looking grave.  "Excalibur is the greatest weapon of our peoples.  ALL our peoples.  And not just the Builders, but our Allies and Creators, the Ancients.  Yes, the Ancients did create some of the Builders, others of the Builders merely helped the Ancients do so.  Not even any of the warriors of the Ancients could control Excalibur, because it cannot *_be*_ controlled."

"Sounds like another sword I know," Buffy briefly whispered, but nobody really heard her.

"Excalibur can only be summoned with a single purpose in mind, and it draws it's strength from the very life essence of the one who summons it.  In order to use it at all, the summoner must have a strength great enough that…that, it would be the same as using your essence as a weapon yourself.  Some called it…yes, ki.  Once its purpose is complete, it will vanish back into its summoning crest without another word.  It almost possesses the Summoner, but still allows him to call judgement so that it does not strike randomly or kill an ally by mistake.  Several others that were placed into summoning gems also attempted to summon or control Excalibur.  As I said, I was the closest, but as you find them, they may have insights that I have forgotten or never knew about."

Thailog nodded, absorbing the information, while at the same time calming his wife through their link.  "Thank you Tailarn.  Would you…"

"I must return to my rest for now.  But if you ever have need of the Crimson Blade, do not hesitate to summon me once more," Tailarn said before he suddenly turned back to stone, and then disappeared in the same energy, back into the Band, and the moment he was gone, the Gym went back to it's normal illumination.

"Well," Buffy said after a minute of silence, "That was educational."

"I want to go with you."

Everything stopped.  The air, the noise, several heartbeats, and at least one brain.  Slowly, everyone turned to look at the one who had spoken.  Cordelia swallowed heavily, but set her stance and gave the best "Resolve Face" she could as she repeated, looking at Chobe and Thailog, "I want to go with you."

_Later that day_

"Alright, Wills, what's so important it can't wait?" the Traveling Buffy asked as she, Thailog and her counter part gathered in Willow's workroom.

"Well," Willow began, "I did a brief look over the viewer you got off Fragnar like you asked me to and found something really interesting. Can I borrow the Summoning Plate for a minute?" Thailog obliged, curious as Willow took it to the other side of the room, "Now, take the 'viewer' out and try a button other than the one you pressed before." 

Thailog obliged, and again that slightly frightening instinct about the Band guiding him to one button in particular. They watched as a small thin beam shot from the Band's jewel, weaving around the various objects until it hit the plate.

"What… was that?" Chobe asked.

"That," Willow said, "was what the viewer's really meant to do. It's a tracker, so you can find the Band's attachments easily. The further away, the harder it is, so you'll probably get a map or something most of the time."

"I think our job just got easier," Chobe muttered.

_One Week later_

"Are you _sure_ you want to do this?" Xander asked for…yep, the Millionth time.

Cordelia glared at him as she adjusted the fit of her armored gauntlet.  She was wearing armor that Willow had especially crafted for her, able to be worn only by her.  Not even alternate Cordelia's could wear it.  Mostly it was the color of the material, some places brown leather like at the legs or arms, other places steel colored like on her gauntlets, shin guards, and chest.  She also had a dark leather and black silk lined cloak on, which was also mystically enchanted.  Other than luck, it could also hide just about everything inside it's folds.

At her hips was a belt full of pockets and various weapons, a pair of daggers, one on each side, a magic bolo whip was attached to the back, and something that looked like an ornament belt buckle was actually a magically collapsible shield that could expand from "belt buckle" size to large enough to fit on Cordy's arm.  The same powers, or at least the same effects, of Chobe's Tiara applied to Cordy's shield when deployed.

Across her back though, were Cordy's real weapons.  An "enhanced" shotgun that Willow had enchanted to never run out of ammunition, and had a couple extras thrown in by a munitions expert that designed "unique" weapons that a friend of theirs knew and owed a favor or three to.  That gun was worth all three favors.

The other was a hilted sword.  All Cordy knew about it was what Willow told her, and all the Wiccan had told her was that it was "special".

"Yes.  I'm sure." Cordy said finally.  They had said all that they could possibly say already.

"I don't want to let you go," Xander said.

"I know.  But I have to go.  I _need_ to go.  And not just to teach my backstabbing double who her real friends are, but for them to.  Xander, we've talked about this.  If it was you and if you could, you would go and we all know it.  I'll be fine.  Buffy talked to you right?"

Xander frowned, but nodded.

She leaned up and gave him a thorough kiss.  When they pulled back, he gave her a full on puppy dog eye look and said, "I _reeeeaaally_ don't want you to go."  Million and one.

Cordelia sighed and stared lovingly up into the eyes of the man she loved with all her heart and soul.  "I love you," she said quietly.

Xander drew her closer to him and stared right back at her soul.  "I love you," he whispered back, and kissed her again.

They were interrupted by a knock at their door, which thankfully only happened as their kiss was already ending.  Xander sighed, and went to open the door, which revealed their Buffy on the other side of it, looking…pensive at best.

"Come on," she said without preamble, looking right at Cordelia.  Cordelia nodded and gathered up her pack, which contained not only the necessary survival items such as an endless supply of food and water, but clothing, compass (magical), and a powerful spell that had put Willow to sleep after she'd finished casting it where whatever they needed at the moment would magically appear in it.  Normally it would take a wizard of Merlin's level a full century to complete a spell like that.  Willow had done it in one day.

The three walked downstairs and then to the back yard, where Buffy, daughter of Oberon, Thailog, and Ta'ruk, in full armor, waited for her.  She said her last goodbyes, as Buffy and Thailog did the same, hugging everyone present, except of course for their travel companions.  Ta'ruk was just briefly sexually assaulted by Faith, but he didn't really seem to mind.

Finally, the goodbyes had been said, and it was time.

"I'll remember everything that I learned here," Buffy said to her double.

"Thank you for everything," Thailog said, before giving a meaningful look at Xander, "We'll protect her, and make sure that she gets back to you."  Warrior X just nodded, his face a mask.

Ta'ruk bowed, but didn't say anything.  Given what Faith had just done to him, that was fully understandable.

Buffy took one last breath of the air around her, looked at this other version of her family, and then transported the four of them, herself, Thailog, Ta'ruk, and Cordy, to the Gateway in a flash of red flame.

When they arrived in the Gateway, they found someone there waiting for them. He looked like your average teenager, but Buffy's magic senses instantly identified him as a Dragon.

"Hi," he said.

"Can we help you?" Buffy asked.

"I would like to come with you," he said, chancing a look at Cordelia.

"Xander think we can't look after her?" Buffy said with a grin. Her companions looked at her, except for Thailog, whom she had already alerted. The mystery teen gave a small smile, "Relax, guys. He's a Dragon."

"Actually, Rosesummer found out her 'Auntie' was going off on an adventure without her," the Dragon said, "She… persuaded me to assist you. Name's Goran."

"Wait a minute," Cordy spluttered, "Rosy thinks I can't take care of myself?" Goran shrugged.

"She would miss you, and the presents, if you didn't come back," he said. Cordy groaned out loud.

"I've gotta de-Buffy that girl," she muttered, "She's as subtle as stake."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Buffy said, still grinning. At least this Cordy had plenty of people looking out for her, "Welcome aboard, Goran. As long as Fragnar doesn't come after us."

"He knows," Goran said, "Not even he is unaffected by Rosy's 'Resolve Face," this brought a peal of laughter from the group as those who hadn't seen it tried to imagine the Dragon version of Willow's 'secret weapon'.

"Alright, guys," Buffy said, walking over to a symbol, "Time to go. Hold on to your lunches."

Seconds later, they were gone.

Fin (finally).

Well, that's it guys. As of next chapter, the gang will be back on the road, with two new comrades. Next stop; Brian Pullido's Lady Death: A Medival Tale.

One last thing. Anyone who wants to follow Joshua's lead with a co-written chapter, a challenge or even actually writing on for me (I don't mind. Really), let me know.

Stay tuned.

Doc.


	12. Medieval Cofrontations

Greetings and salutations. I'd like to apologise for the long wait on updates. Two reasons. One; I do not currently have ongoing internet access at home. I have to borrow or beg acces. The other reason is that I've had a total hard drive crash. All of my stories have gone kaput and it is going to take a while to get everything up to date. Please be patient. I'll get everything ready ASAP. For now...

I do not own Lady Death. This charecter belongs to the genius that is Brian Pulido, nor do I own anything else but the story ideas. And Ta'ruk. Goran belongs to me and Joshua the evil guy. Any mentions to the Wanderervere belong to those peoples.

And now, on with the fic.

Medieval Confrontations

"What a ride," Cordelia said as they appeared in the woods.

"Better get used to it," Buffy told her, "You're going to be doing it for a while." Cordelia nodded. Until they figured out how to tell what symbol went where, they would be forced to jump from world to world until they found the right one.

"So, Chobe. Any ideas where 'here' is?" The former Queen C of Sunnydale asked. Buffy made a face at the name. She had been hoping to get away from it.

"A forest," Ta'ruk said. Cordelia glared at the Jaffa.

"Ha-ha."

"I could go airborne," Goran suggested. Buffy shook her head.

"We don't know where we are," she said, "The locals may not appreciate a Dragon showing up out of nowhere." She turned to Thailog, "Well?"

"The Band cannot detect any summoning gems or additional components," he told her after checking, "This may be a quick stop over."

"Well, that'll make things easier on us, anyway," Buffy said, "Not everyone here is immortal."

"Just long lived," Cordelia said quietly.

"I've gotta hit Avalon or whatever it's called here," Buffy said, "Find a cave or something. I'll meet you there when I'm done," with that, she vanished in a flash of blue light.

She reappeared in front of a bridge. At least, she assumed it was a bridge. There was something there, that much she knew. It just seemed to… shift, between there and not there. She switched to her Aura Sight, an ability taught to her at the last stop, to see if it improved.

What she saw was indeed a bridge, hidden under powerful masking spells. Had she not been part Fey, she would have missed it altogether.

She crossed the bridge, entering what could only be described as one of the strangest forests she had ever seen. Her senses, human, Slayer and Fey, were going ballistic. This place, whatever it was, was filled to the brim with magic and danger. But it was not this dimensions Avalon.

That fair place was just ahead. She discovered it not long after crossing the bridge.

Upon arrival, she was hit with that now familiar sense of welcome, like she was home. She breathed in the clean air, cleaner than any she had breathed before this trip, and more delicious than any she had found since, save in its counterparts.

"Hope the natives are friendly," she muttered, looking at the giant city before her. She took a couple of steps forward, before movement behind her caught her attention.

After what had happened last time, with her early discovery by the Three Sisters of that world and subsequent, though short, battle with them, she decided that discretion was the better part of valour and quickly found a hiding spot, from which she watched a defeated army ride past.

The Fey of this world were all albino, paler than a sheet, though with a striking beauty. Their weapons looked rather flimsy, but were held with a grace and power Buffy hadn't seen very often. Their armour was extravagant, made for looks as well as workability.

Buffy watched them head towards the city ahead, wondering what to do. She couldn't just barge in, there was no telling how they would react to a halfling like herself, yet she needed to know where she stood on this world, in case they were ever forced to return. So, sneaking seemed the best option.

Magic probably wouldn't be a good idea though. There was a chance she might set off some alarm, and she wanted to remain secret, at least temporarily. So no magic, no revealing of self. She chuckled as she headed to a nearby wall and began scaling a vine. Piece of cake.

"How could you fail to destroy one village?" Thorm, King of the Edritch demanded.

"Tvaras' half breed," the leader spat, "She rallied the villagers against us, and defeated me in combat."

"A mere half breed?" Thorm spat, "Are you not good enough to beat a single half breed?"

"My lord…" he began.

"Enough!" Thorm bellowed, "Leave me," the soldier left, "How could a single half breed defeat one of us?"

From her perch, Buffy had watched the proceedings, and did not find them promising. So much for friendly natives. She sighed and headed back to the bridge. Whatever was going on here, it was clear the local human population was in danger.

Cordy was going to spit.

"We're WHAT?!" Cordelia screamed.

"We don't have a choice, Cordelia," Buffy said calmly, "These people need our help. One half Eldritch isn't going to stop these guys."

"And adding us to the mix helps how?" Cordelia demanded, "This is nuts, Chobe!"

"One, don't call me that," Buffy started, "Two, we have a collection of skills, power and weapons that the Eldritch couldn't hope to equal. I read about these guys while I was training with Willow. They're basically the same as the Fey, except for the fact that they're currently at war with the normal humans. We may not be able to kill them, but between us, we can at least give these people a fighting chance," she took a breath to calm herself, "Maybe I am taking this a little personally, but I can't just leave these people to their fate," Cordelia looked at her, then sighed.

"Alright, alright, I get the point," she conceded, "I just hope you have a plan of some sort. We can't just charge in against an army."

"I always have a plan," Buffy said confidently, ignoring Cordelia rolling her eyes, "Novgorod's about a days walk east of here, meaning about half an hour by Dragon. Goran, would you mind? I'm not sure of exact location and I don't want to 'port into a wall or someone."

"Good point," Goran said, "As long as they don't shoot at me."

"From the looks of things, the most you'd have to worry about is long bows," Buffy said, "But before we enter the village, me and Cordelia can go in and smooth things over before the rest of you come in."

"Okay, hooking up with the village these guys attacked," Cordelia asked, "Why?" Buffy looked at her.

"Because that's where the half Eldritch is," she said, "And her father may be the only Eldritch that disagrees with the King. We find him we have a chance. She may know where he is."

"There is another facet you may not have considered, my love," Thailog said, "If there is one Eldritch which disagrees with the way things are, then there may be others."

"I didn't think about that," Buffy admitted, "If we can find Tvaras, then we might be able to gain the support from the Eldritch who don't support his Royal, Obnoxiousness."

"Okay, so the plan has a chance," Cordelia said, "If we can find this guy."

"Hope!" Wolfram von Bach, formally of the Teutonic Knights, ran into where his friend and student was sitting with her last living human family, "We have company."

"Eldritch?" Hope asked.

"Not that I can see," Wolf said, "Though they are dressed strangely. Both are female, yet they seem to have walked here."

"Walked?" Hope asked, "Are you sure, Wolf?"

"They have no horses," Wolf confirmed. Hope nodded, gathering her sword, Blackheart, and the dagger her father left her. She had not seen Tvaras in some time, and wondered where he was hiding.

She walked out to meet the two strangers. One had dark hair, and was wearing some kind of armour, along with a long cloak and a sword slung across her back. The other, though…

The second the young woman known to the Greelum as Lady Death laid eyes on her, she knew she wasn't human, not entirely, anyway. She held herself with grace, stood like a warrior, and had an aura of power that stunk of her father's race. The armour she wore was similar to that of the Eldritch in design. Her weapons, however, were nothing like those used by her father's people. Her sword looked very similar to those used by the Scarlet Riders the Church had sent after her and Wolf. There was also a dagger, about half the length of her arm, and spikes of assorted size and type.

"I am Hope," she said, "Known to the Greelum as Lady Death."

"Elizabeth Summers," the blonde said, "or Buffy. Daughter of Oberon of the Fey and Chosen as Vampire Slayer. This is Cordelia Chase, my friend and comrade. We're here to help."

"Help with what?" Wolf asked suspiciously.

"To help stop this madness," Buffy said. "To stop the Eldritch."

"Two girls against the Eldritch?" Wolf said sceptically.

"Careful, Wolf," Hope said, looking at Buffy, "She is not what she seems," Buffy nodded.

"Not bad, considering you haven't been trained," Buffy conceded, "We're travellers, from a world similar to this. I'm like you are, Hope. I'm part human, part Fey, the Eldritch of my world."

"What do you mean 'a world similar to this'?" Wolf asked.

"Long or short?" Cordelia asked. The two gave them a strange look. Cordelia sighed, "Long story or short story?"

"What does the 'short story' entail?" Hope asked.

"We're from different dimensions," Buffy said, "Planets that are, basically, the same, but different in many ways. For example, we just came from the year 1999 AD on Cordy's world."

"1999?" Wolf said, "But it is the year of our Lord 1225."

"Are you claiming to be from the future?" Hope demanded, beginning to wonder if this was some cruel joke, "How is that possible?" Buffy looked at Hope.

"A Gateway," she explained, "A room that allows us to open portals between dimensions. I can understand if you don't believe me. Most people wouldn't. But we aren't lying. I swear on the name of my father."

"Who is…?" Wolf asked. Buffy looked at him, straitening her back. She suddenly looked every bit like royalty.

"My father is Oberon," Buffy said, "Lord of the Isle of Avalon, King of the Fey."

"And you take way too much pride in saying that, Chobe," Cordelia muttered.

"We are more alike than you think," Hope said, "My own Father is King of the Eldritch," Buffy looked at her.

"Huh?" Buffy said, "Wait a minute. That doesn't make sense."

"What do you mean?" Hope demanded. Had something happened?

"I snuck into Aglarond," Buffy explained, "Something I have to do every stop. Anyway, I heard the leader of the band that did this," she gestured at the destruction around them, "reporting to the King. He referred to you as 'Tvaras' half breed'. Why would he do that if he was speaking to Tvaras?"

"Hope…?" Wolf said, placing a hand on his students shoulder.

"But, my father is the King of the Eldritch," Hope said. Worry churned within her. What could have happened? They had found out about her obviously. What had the cost been for Tvaras?

"Sounds like he got deposed," Cordy said without thinking.

"Still Queen of Insensitivity, aren't you Cordy?" Buffy said dryly. This made her plans a little more difficult.

"My father…" Hope whispered, "My last words to him were of anger and now he's gone."

"Maybe not," Buffy said, "We might be able to save him."

"Just the two of you?" Wolf asked. Buffy fixed him with a glare.

"Hope," she said, not taking her eyes of Wolf, "We have friends just outside of the village, but they're not… normal, as the villagers would see it. We'll bring them in, but I need your word no one will attack them."

"You have it," Hope said. If they could help rescue her father…

_"Thailog,"_ Buffy sent, _"Bring them in. Tell Goran to come in as a Dragon, and then change to human. We need to prove we have the power to help."_

_"We are on our way,"_ her Guardian sent back.

"They're on their way," Buffy said out loud.

"How could you know this?" Wolf asked. This girl was more mysterious than the Scarlet Riders, who had remained to help keep the town safe, but had power equal to Hope's.

"I'm bonded to one of them," Buffy said, "I can sense his feelings, his thoughts, as he can mine. I just let him know to come in. Just control your Knightly impulses."

"Why…?" Wolf's words were stopped as a huge, winged creature came overhead, landing beside them. A second creature, more human than the other, landed beside it. A warrior, dressed in strange armour and holding a staff with a strange black cylinder hanging from his back, jumped from the back of the larger creature, which then shrunk, becoming human, "By all the Heavenly Host. Is that…?"

"This is Goran, of the Dragons," Buffy said, gesturing to the man who had been the Dragon, "Ta'ruk, of the Jaffa," the armoured man bowed slightly as he handed Cordelia her shotgun, "and My Guardian and beloved, Thailog of the Wyvern Clan. A Gargoyle," Thailog spared her a glance at that comment.

_"Cloned or not, you're still of Goliath's blood,"_ she sent, _"Hudson told me the clan was named after the castle they lived in a thousand years ago. You belong to the clan, love. Just don't think of taking off anytime soon,"_ he didn't move, but sent a wave of thanks down their link and a comforting presence that soothed her fears once more about the chance of him "taking off".

At that moment, the Scarlet Riders came towards them, tailed by some of the villagers and Cai, Wolf's brother.

"What is going on?" The Knight demanded, "We saw a large creature fly over head…" the group looked at Thailog with a mixture of amazement and horror, "What kind of demon…?"

"Watch your tongue, gaijin," one of the Riders snapped, "That is a Gargoyle. There is a clan of them protecting my home village. I will not have you bad mouthing them," he walked up to Thailog, bowing deeply, "I'm am honoured, Guardian. I am called Raijin. I lead the Scarlet Riders," Thailog returned the gesture.

"It is I who am honoured," Thailog said, "By your welcome and defence," he looked over at Hope, "Buffy has informed me of your difficulty. Any assistance I can give is yours."

"Thankyou," Hope said. She turned to the villagers, "Are there any rooms left available?"

"My stables all I've got," an Innkeeper said, "But if they need it, its their's."

"Thanks," Buffy said. She turned to her companions, "We'll get settled before starting anything," Cai looked at them.

"What exactly are you 'starting'?" he asked. Buffy looked at him.

"Simple," she said, "I think what happened here is both cowardly and counterproductive. I'm going to let the man in charge know that, if I have to engrave the fact on his forehead."

She watched from the shadows, the cloaking spell she'd found hiding her well. She would avenge her father by destroying his mistake. Then, they would free him from the Welf Holes. She knew it.

One of the new comers was walking past her when she stopped. Caprice watched on curiously. She couldn't know she's there, could she?

The girl answered by leaning close to her and saying, "I don't know why you're hiding, but I'm guessing you're Eldritch. Meet me outside the village in about an hour. You can explain then," with that she walked away.

Caprice watched her leave, shocked that she had seen through her spell. Who was this girl?

"You showed," Buffy said as the Eldritch girl entered the clearing, "I didn't think you would."

"I want answers," the girl said, "and revenge."

"Against Hope," Buffy guessed.

"Because of that freak, my father is trapped in a prison where time exists all at once. Forwards, backwards, even sideways," the girl fumed, "If I kill her, Uncle Thorm will release him."

"He won't," Buffy said, "I've seen him, sitting on his throne. A throne he stole from your father, right?"

"Because of her," the girl hissed.

"Stop blaming Hope," Buffy snapped, "Is it her fault your father couldn't keep it in his pants?"

"How dare you?" the girl yelled, releasing a powerful bolt of lightening. Buffy batted it to one side easily.

"Because I'm from one of those times that exist sideways," Buffy said, "Now, let's try to be civil about this. I'm Buffy," the girl looked at her in shock, "You got a name, or do I just call you 'Angry Girl'?"

"Caprice," the Eldritch said, "True daughter of Tvarus," she felt pain crack across her cheek.

"Say something like that again and I send you back to Aglarond with a spanked behind," Buffy said coldly.

"What are you?" Caprice asked, "You are no mortal. Your magic is far too strong."

"Man, you're arrogant," Buffy muttered, "I'm like Hope. My father is the Lord of the Fair Folk in my home dimension. My mother was a normal, human girl."

"Is?" Caprice asked. Buffy grinned.

"No one dares argue with my father," Buffy said, "Not even Lady Titania. Besides, he sent his people in to exile, to learn something of humanity, and why they don't interfere in it."

"He broke his own law, I presume," Caprice said. Buffy laughed at her.

"He bent it," she corrected, "He didn't really interfere in mom's life. He gave her some momentary happiness, a daughter to love and a reason to live. They started falling out of love and he left her to her life, and me to mine. I didn't even know his true identity until some of the Fey decided to interfere in my life, which lead to my Fairy half coming to the surface," she smiled at Caprice, "From what I gather, it's a Fairy ruler's prerogative to bend the rules every so often."

"He broke my mother's heart," Caprice said, though the excuse fell rather flatly, even on her own ears, "To the point that she betrayed him to my uncle."

"Life sucks," Buffy said simply, "It happens sometimes. If your mother really loved him, she would have talked to him about it. Asked him why he never told her. She just stabbed him in the back," Caprice couldn't argue with that point. Her mother's jealousy had cost the girl her father.

"And if that… Hope… hadn't sought him out…"

"I didn't," Hope said, walking into the clearing. She looked at Buffy, "Thailog said you were talking to someone that I needed to see," Buffy nodded, mentally reprimanding her beloved. Caprice wasn't ready for this yet.

_"Are you sure?"_ came the silent reply.

"I didn't seek father out," Hope repeated, looking at Caprice evenly, "I was in trouble, I was dying. He came to me, helped me. Saved me. The second time…" her hand brushed the dagger she knew he had left for her while she slept, "…The third time, he saved Wolf and myself from the Church, and offered to take me to safety. My last words to him were of anger, and now…"

"Now he is in the worst prison in existence," Caprice said, adding, "Because of you. Because you did survive. What are you going to do about it?" Hope looked at her, at her sister, even if the girl didn't accept it.

"Save him," Hope said simply.

"Not alone," Buffy said, stepping beside her, "My friends and I are helping."

"Six against an army?" Caprice asked. Buffy grinned.

"You have no clue what we can do," she said, "Trust me."

"You want me to trust you?" Caprice said, "Prove it," Buffy chuckled.

"Little girl, you have serious issues," she said, "But you want proof? Of what? That we can be trusted, or that we can get Tvarus free?"

"Both," came the simple reply. Buffy smiled.

"The first isn't easy," she said, "The second, however, isn't so difficult," a second later, the three were standing in the barn that now housed the Travellers.

"How…?"

"Teleportation," Buffy said, "Moving from here to there in an instant. I got out of Aglarond this way, so it can penetrate the veil."

"So you can get in," Caprice snorted, "What good will being in there be to you if you're overrun by guards," Buffy stared at her a minute, her lips moving as if she were saying something. There was a shimmer of power and Caprice could have sworn she saw movement, though Buffy stood completely still.

Apparently, anyway. She soon proved that wrong when her voice came from behind Caprice.

"Why are you talking to an image?" Caprice turned to face her, "How many of us are there again? 'Cause I'm pretty sure it's more than six. Unless my mathematics has really gotten bad."

"An army of images…"

"Will not be needed," Thailog said, walking in, "Your people may be strong, but they do not have Buffy's knowledge. They have never encountered my like before," to emphasize the fact, he powered up slightly, just enough to reveal his ki flame.

"My God," Hope whispered, "What is that?"

"Lords of Chaos help me," Caprice breathed in the same tone, "That is impossible. You could disintegrate Aglarond without breaking a sweat. What are you?"

"A warrior," Thailog said, "One that will not rest until your father is free. You have my word on that."

"Geez, Big T," Cordelia said, walking in, "I think you broke her," she smiled as she held out a hand, "I'm Cordelia. Probably the most normal of our little troop," Caprice took the hand numbly, then transferred her stare to Cordelia. The grip the girl had was phenomenal.

"You are the most normal?" She gasped. Cordelia grinned.

"Space alien, Dragon, Gargoyle, half Fey Slayer… yep, most normal one," she answered, "So, had enough with the shocks, or should Goran show off his Dragon form? Maybe Ta'ruk could show you Junior."

"Cordelia, we want to convince her, not give her a heart attack," Buffy chastened her. Caprice looked at them all like they were mad, "I don't know if that's a 'I don't believe you' look or a 'you're all insane' look."

"Caprice?" Hope ventured. The Eldritch girl looked up at her dumbly.

"These… are your friends?" She managed.

"More like… recent acquaintances," Hope corrected her, "But I'm hoping they see me that favourably," Buffy smiled at the two.

"Don't sweat it," she assured them, "We only let go against enemies or each other during training."

"Training?" Caprice asked.

"What, you think I was born like this?" Cordelia asked, "I had to train hard in serious gravity to get this strong. Same as Big T. Chobe… okay, she was born with some of her strength, but she trained a little too."

"'A little'?" Buffy huffed.

"I think we should introduce Caprice to Goran and Ta'ruk," Thailog said, cutting off the argument he knew was coming.

"Maybe we should bring them in here," Hope suggested, "The others will not view Caprice as favourably as they do… you."

"The half Eldritch deal still stretching the faith with some of them, huh?" Buffy asked, "Don't worry. It'll get better."

"What makes you so sure?" Caprice asked. In truth, she hoped her father was right about the humans. Buffy's answer shocked her however.

"Can't get much worse," she said, "You just have to work at it. Who knows, you two might just be the thing that brings the two races together. The Eldritch princess and her half human sister? It proves there's a chance for something."

"Bringing the two races together is impossible," Caprice said bitterly, "The hatred and rivalry runs to deep."

"You would be surprised," Thailog said, "There was a time when I thought humans could only hate or use those that were different. It was the only experience I had. Then I met Buffy and things… changed."

"Definitely for the good," Buffy said, looking over at her beloved happily.

"I'm getting out of here before this love fest makes me barf," Cordelia said, "I'll get the others."

"Bring Wolf in too, if you don't mind," Hope asked, "I would have him know that there is more than one Eldritch at least acts like they have the soul the Church claims they lack."

"Who is the other?" Caprice asked. Hope smiled down at her sister.

"Our father has saved Wolf's life twice, though he is loath to admit it," she explained. Caprice looked at her, puzzling through what she had learned. Perhaps there was more to the humans- and her sister- than she had thought.

"My father saved this…" Caprice gestured at the armoured man, "Twice?"

"You are related to Hope?" Wolf shot back, "I find it hard to believe that a spoiled little brat like yourself could be related to her."

"Spoilt little brat?" Caprice screeched, "You insect! I could crush you here and now!"

"Caprice!" Buffy snapped.

"Wolf, please," Hope pleaded, "You are not helping," the two glared at each other. Buffy sighed.

"This is going to take some time," she muttered, "Okay, let's try this the easy way. Wolf, why are the humans so against the Eldritch?"

"They are soulless demons!" The Knight snapped, "They destroy our people without mercy, going on their Wild Hunts and decimating the villages."

"Only because they threaten our lifestyle!" Caprice exploded, "You expand madly, without reason. This very village is dangerously close to Aglarond. If you continue to expand like this, our home will be over run and we will cease to exist."

"They are defending themselves," Thailog realized, "They see the humans as a threat, as much as the humans see them as the same."

"This is a war based on fear?" Hope gasped, "Fear that could be alleviated if either side just sat and talked?" Caprice and Wolf looked at each other in shock as they both came to the same conclusion.

"I feel very foolish," the girl said. Wolf nodded.

"Aye," he agreed, "Our two peoples have been fighting a war that could have been resolved by talking for centuries," he chuckled, "It is almost ironic in a way."

"Oh?" Caprice asked.

"It took two half Eldritch…" he began.

"Or equivalent," Buffy interrupted.

"… To show the way," Wolf finished, "The very thing both of our races have feared," Buffy giggled, looking at Hope.

"He's right," she said, "If you didn't survive and we didn't come here, they wouldn't stand a chance of peace."

"I get the feeling that you were sent here for just that reason," Hope said. Buffy nodded.

"It did feel like we were meant to be here when I activated the Gate," Buffy agreed, "Same as Cordy's and Ta'ruk's worlds before that. Weird."

"For the moment, we should concentrate on freeing Hope and Caprice's father," Thailog said. Caprice nodded.

"Once father is back on his throne, we can begin repairing the damage done by foolishness," she said.

"Aye," Wolf agreed, a crooked smile on his face, "I would like to be there when you do. The look on his face when it is I saving him… it would be worth the risk," Caprice giggled.

"I can see why father would save your life, sirrah," she said, "You are most amusing. I believe you may have missed your calling as a jester," the barn exploded with laughter.

_Aglarond._

Caprice moved through the halls of the castle, hoping against hope that she wouldn't run into…

"Caprice, there you are," Caprice managed to stifle a groan as her mother came towards her, "Where have you been? Your uncle the King is expecting us for dinner," if Caprice had eyeballs, she would have rolled them much like she had seen Cordelia do.

"I…" the girl contemplated lying outright, but she knew her mother would know. So she settled with half the truth, "I will not lie to you mother. I went hunting the abomination," Please believe it.

"You hunted your fathers… mistake?" Obsidia spat, "Why?"

"Because I know if I can erase that then Uncle Thorm will at least release father from the Welf Holes! I know it!" Caprice hoped her voice sounded desperate enough. She thought back to the human's beliefs of her race being lying demons and was glad Wolf could not see her now.

"Caprice," Obsidia said gently, "Nothing can save your father. He betrayed me… us. It is best if you forget him."

"He is my father!" Caprice raged, "I can not just 'forget' him, no matter what he did!"

"Caprice that will do!" Obsidia ordered, "Now, go get cleaned up and come to dinner," with that, the Eldritch Queen turned and left. Caprice watched her mother walk away before moving to her own room and locking the door.

"Buffy was right," she whispered sadly, "Oh father, I'm so sorry I doubted you. Don't worry. We'll get you out. I promise.

_Nosgorod._

"Do we all understand the plan?" Buffy asked.

"We get it already Chobe," Cordelia said exasperated, "You, Hope and Ta'ruk will go in to back Caprice up while the rest of us await your signal. Once we get that, Thailog and myself will lead Wolf, Cai and the Scarlet Riders in to take the Welf Holes."

"Once we get Caprice out, we head to the Welf Holes to free my father," Hope completed.

"Bloodying the Usurper's nose as much as possible on the way out," Buffy finished with a nod, "This won't be easy…."

"Nothing worth doing ever is," Wolf said. Buffy nodded in agreement, then looked pointedly at Cai.

"This does not give the Church open invitation to attack Aglarond," Buffy said, "This is a simple rescue mission. Once Tvaras is out, you will organise a meeting with the Pope or whoever you can to start some sort of common ground between the two people."

"I do not agree with that part," Cai grumbled, "But if we can find some evidence that the Eldritch attack's are only out of fear of destruction, I will find a way."

_"This may not be a sound plan,"_ Thailog sent.

_"I know,"_ Buffy answered, _"Don't worry. I have a Plan B for that bit. Wolf's already gotten in contact with some people in the Church. If Cai doesn't come through, we'll just kick the Popes door down."_

_"Don't ever change."_

_"Not the important bits."_

Tvaras' stood within the confines of his prison, still frozen by the spell that kept him from punishing his traitorous brother. Within the prison, time sped by, or moved at snails pace, or even tore him in directions that didn't exist. But within this, there was some comfort.

When his ancestors had designed this place, they had designed it so that the prisoner could see the life he was missing, unable to interact. Here lay Tvaras' hope, for he had seen both of his daughter's band together with one goal in mind: to stop the madness, and free him.

If he could have smiled as Obsidia cemented Caprice's rebellion, he would have. You have made a grave error, Obsidia, he thought. One that will come to haunt you, and you, Thorm.

The madness will end.

_Aglarond._

Caprice flopped down on the bed, the lie she lived at dinner exhausting her. She looked at the ceiling, horrified at how easily it seemed her mother had levitated towards her uncle.

"Why did she have to be right?" she muttered.

"That's the way of the world," a male voice stated, "Just when you think you have everything covered, something comes up and bites you on the ass. Trust me on that. I have experience," Caprice leapt to her feet and faced her visitor, who looked, at least, to be human.

"Who are you?" she demanded, "How did you get in here?"

"Not important," the man said.

"And why is that?"

"Because we're not here talk about me," the man said, "We're here to talk about what happened today."

"Then we have nothing to talk about," Caprice said. The man chuckled.

"She's done it again," he muttered, almost happily, "I'll never understand how she does that."

"Does what?" Caprice asked, "Who are you talking about?"

"Buffy," the man said, "She always manages to inspire people. Don't say she doesn't. If Hope had tried to convince you that Thorm was wrong, or your mother, or your father, would you have listened?" Caprice thought for a moment. The stranger was right. Buffy had indeed been the one that had convinced her.

"You know her then?" Caprice asked. The man smiled sadly.

"I loved her," he said.

"You are Angel?" Caprice asked.

"She mentioned me?" the guardian angel said, sounding surprised.

"Her attempt at gaining my trust," Caprice said, "She held nothing back."

"She doesn't," the former vampire said, "Not unless it's something that could endanger you."

"Why are you here?"

"Assurance," Angel said, "That Buffy knows what she's doing."

"I know that," the Eldritch princess snorted.

"But do you believe it?" Angel countered. Caprice faltered, unsure of what he meant, "You know she knows what she's doing, but you have doubts. You've heard her past and wonder if she has what it takes to finish the job. It's alright to think like that, but do you realise what this means to her?"

"What do you mean?" Caprice asked.

"How close to this sort of thing did her own father come?" he asked and suddenly Caprice understood. This wasn't just a battle of right and wrong to her. This could very well have become Buffy's existence.

This was personal. Very personal. And where Buffy Summers was concerned, you don't make it personal.

"She knows what she's doing," Caprice said confidently. Angel nodded, then vanished from sight.

"Here we go," Buffy muttered, standing in front of the entrance to Aglarond.

"Um, Chobe?" Cordelia said. "There's nothing here."

"There is something," Thailog said, squinting.

"I agree," Hope said. "There _is_ something there. I can barely make it out though. It seems to be a bridge."

"It is," Buffy said. "It's masked so that only mystical creatures can see it. That's one of the reasons Goran and Thailog are staying here. I was hoping they'd be able to see it well enough to guide you in."

"We can," Goran said. "An impressive attempt though. The only clue that anything is even here are these statues."

"Unbelievable," Wolf muttered. No wonder no human had ever found the home of the Eldritch.

"Come on," Buffy said. "Let's get this over with," she led Hope and Ta'ruk to the bridge, vanishing from the sight of the others.

"Where did they go?" Cai gasped.

"Through the veil," Thailog said simply. Cordelia squinted at the area between the two statues.

"I gotta start wearing contacts," she muttered.

"What is this place?" Hope asked.

"Borderlands," Buffy answered shortly. "Be careful. This place can be dangerous. Ta'ruk, weapons check."

"All appears to be working Buffy Summers," the Jaffa answered, opening first the end of his staff, then his Zat' gun.

"Good," Buffy said. "I don't like the idea of going into this under prepared."

"Why bring him through anyway?" Hope asked.

"One, Thorm won't be expecting his weapons," Buffy said, "and the Naquada that powers them has the ability to make it harder to cast magic. I'm hoping it hurts too. Two, they probably would have felt a Dragon walk through, or any of the others. I'm hoping Junior can shield him from their senses. Besides," she added, "of our little group, Thailog's the only one that can beat him, one on one with no 'power ups'. He's one of our best. That's an edge we're going to need."

"I hope you are right," Lady Death said.

"So do I, Hope," Buffy muttered. "Come on. Let's move it. This place is giving me the wiggins."

Caprice looked at the doors to the grand hall nervously. Buffy was supposed to come today and the young Eldritch was starting to have second thoughts, though those were quickly dispelled with a look at Thorm, sitting proud as a peacock on his stolen throne. A throne her father would soon reclaim.

Caprice's thoughts were interrupted as the doors of the grand hall exploded inwards.

Quite literally exploding. Caprice ducked as splinters and guards flew through the air.

"Someone holding a party without inviting us?" Buffy quipped as she walked in flanked by Hope and the ever-loyal Ta'ruk. "Oh well. Hope you don't mind if we crash."

"Who are you?" Thorm demanded. "What right do you have to invade my kingdom?"

"Your kingdom?" Hope fumed.

"Steady Lady Death," Buffy said. It had been agreed that they would use the name the Greelum had given her.

"Lady Death?" Thorm said, startled. "So, my brother's half breed bitch comes grovelling for mercy."

"You conceited mongrel!" Hope hissed, looking like she was going to live up to her moniker. It was enough for several guards to step forward, which was enough for Ta'ruk to trigger his Zat' Gun. One of the guards folded like a house of cards, stunned.

"Looks like your weapons work here, Ta'ruk," Buffy said off-handedly, sending the rest of the guards flying with a flick of her wrist. She had come to love working her gift, especially here, where her people were strongest.

"Indeed," the Jaffa said.

"Caprice, let's move," Buffy ordered. Caprice nodded, moving forward immediately.

"Caprice, what are you doing?" Obsidia demanded.

"I'm going with my friends and my sister," Caprice said, surprising all in the hall, none more than Hope, "We are going to free father and end the war between our people and the humans."

"And how is that?" Thorm asked slightly amused. "This war will never end."

"It can and will, Usurper," Hope said. "Through the one option none of you ever contemplated, simply because you thought the humans beneath you. We are going to negotiate."

"What?"

"Impossible!"

"The humans are animals. They will never stop their mad expansion."

"We shall see," Hope said. Thorm swallowed hard. No wonder the Greelum called the girl 'Lady Death'.

"If you can get out of here alive," Thorm said, signalling his guards to move forward.

"Why is it that jerks like you can never do their own dirty wok?" Buffy asked as blue light sprung around her.

"I believe it is because he lacks the intestinal fortitude to do anything without trickery and cunning," Caprice said snootily.

"Caprice!" Obsidia said harshly.

"No, I think she is right," Hope stated smoothly. "Else he would have taken father's throne before I was found."

"How dare you…" Thorm Gara didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as the four of them disappeared. "What? Protobascun, find them."

"They are gone," the old man said. "This is not a cloaking spell. They have truly vanished."

"The Welf Holes," Thorm growled. "Quickly."

"What took you guys so long?" Cordelia asked as the group appeared before them. "We've already taken out the guards."

"Well, more company's on the way," Buffy said, quickly weaving the most powerful barrier spell she could manage between them and the coming army. Since they were in Avalon's equivalent, that meant nothing short of a nuclear blast was getting in. "Caprice, get that thing open so we can get your father out of here."

"Are you alright?" Thailog asked. She was using a hell of a lot of magic on this spell, and she would need more to pull Tvarus out.

"I'm fine," Buffy said as he came up behind her. "Here, I don't have to worry about running out of power. Trust me," she said, turning to face him, "I'll be fine. Worry about them," she pointed her thumb behind her to the coming Eldritch.

"Those guys move fast," Cordy muttered, readying her shotgun.

"Caprice, get the damn thing opened!" Buffy ordered. "Thailog, sweety…" Thailog nodded as he moved forward. He looked at the charging masses as he gathered his ki and pushed it forward.

The pure force of it knocked half of them to the ground

"Dear God," Cai whispered. "He didn't even move!"

"Show off," Cordy muttered.

"Buffy I'm in," Caprice shouted. Buffy moved back to the now open Welf Hole a saw the shape that could only be Tvarus.

"Let's get him out of there," she said, summoning her power and reaching out. The red glow of Protobascun's spell was replaced the blue of Buffy's as she gently lifted him up and out.

"What…?" Tvarus muttered as his limbs softened, allowing him to move.

"Father!" Caprice shouted, running forward to embrace him.

"Caprice," he whispered. He looked past her to see an odd assortment of characters, including…

"Hope."

"Father," the girl said, before joining her sister in trying to squeeze life out of him.

"Alright, I like warm and fuzzy moments as much as the next interdimensional traveller," Cordelia said, "but need I remind you of the incoming lynch mob?"

"They can't get in, Cordy," Buffy reminded her. "The shield'll hold. Give them their moment."

"You're friend may be right," Tvarus said. "We should save this reunion for a time when we are not under attack."

At which point a number of Eldritch ran into Buffy's shield.

"Of course, we may have some time," Tvarus said dryly.

"Hello brother," Thorm Gara said, sliding from his steed. "You look well."

"You look better than I would like," Tvarus said bitterly.

"Could I do something about that?" Cordy said, pointing her shotgun at him. "I've got some explosive shells with his name on it," Buffy was about to say something before stopping and looking at the wizened old man beside Thorm. He suddenly stepped back as if struck.

"Stop that," she said. "It's annoying," those that didn't realize what was going on looked at her. "He tried to dismantle my shield. It tickled."

"Protobascun is the strongest magic user in Aglarond," Tvarus gasped.

"So?"

"Are you saying that the strongest wizard they have tried to cancel one of your own spells and it 'tickled'?" Wolf demanded.

"Please," Buffy scoffed. "My father could rip him to shreds, and Willow wouldn't even break a sweat taking him down. It's embarrassing."

"What…?" Thorm managed. Who was this girl?

"Tell him who you are, Buffy," Caprice said with a smug grin. "Please. I want to see what he thinks of that."

"Caprice, what are you talking about?" Tvarus asked.

"This will be enjoyable," Cai said. Despite himself, he had come to like this girl.

"Far be it from me to refuse a princess or a knight," Buffy said. "I am Elizabeth Ann Summers, Daughter of Oberon, Lord of Avalon and king of the Fey in my world. Your counter parts," she said pointedly. "I have travelled from my world to fully master my powers…"

"Fully… master…" Thorm gasped.

"… And attacks like Protoplasm just tried I find insulting," Buffy finished.

"Lords of Chaos help me," Tvarus laughed. "Where did you find this girl?"

"She found us," Hope said. Buffy smiled over at them before turning back to Thorm.

"Your attitude towards your brother, and his daughter, I also find as a personal insult," she said dangerously. "You see, Mr 'Humans are nothing but animals', I am half human. I have learnt from a human, I am still learning, and your greatest sorcerer is an insult to me. Are you getting the hint yet, or do I have to engrave this into your forehead?"

"How dare you threaten me?" Thorm shouted. "Who do you think you..." his tirade was halted by a black cloth that suddenly appeared around his mouth.

"Obviously, I have to do things the hard way," Buffy said, "Again," and with that, they vanished, leaving the Eldritch doubting their King, and said King plotting his revenge.

"Well, that was a fun trip," Buffy said as they appeared in Novgorod's town square. "Tell me, Tvarus, where are we going to have to save you from next time?"

"Hopefully, my lady, it will not be necessary," Tvarus said with a bow. "I am in your debt. All of you."

"Oh, father," Caprice said. "Must you always be such a tease?"

"It is who he is, Caprice," Thailog said. "Do not try to change him."

"You are right, of course," Caprice sighed. "But a girl can try to make her father a little more acceptable. After all," she added, giving Hope a small smile, "he isn't what you'd call attached anymore."

"Oh boy," Cordelia moaned. "Duck and cover, Tvarus. I think your daughters are going to play match maker."

"Who us?" the two said innocently.

"If they can find one as sweet as Marianne and as energetic in bed as Obsidia, I will consider it," Tvarus said, immediately wishing he hadn't.

"Is that a challenge, father?" Hope said. "Come, Caprice, we have some work to do," Tvarus groaned as the two girls walk off.

"Astralgus help me, they're monsters," he said.

"But they're yours, Tvarus," Buffy said. "Remind them of that fact, and never let them forget how much you care for them," the former Eldritch lord nodded. "And now, Cai?"

"I will go and talk to the Archbishop," the Knight said. "It is obvious that the Eldritch are as frightened of destruction as we are."

"For what purpose?" Tvarus asked carefully.

"You're the one that wants this stupidity between the Eldritch and humans to end, right?" Buffy asked. Tvarus nodded. "Well, you're going to get that chance. Negotiations start as soon as Cai can manage. We'll hang here for a couple of weeks, til things get going."

"Why are you doing this?" Tvarus asked. Buffy looked into the distance.

"Like I told His Royal Pain in the Ass," Buffy began, "This is personal. Hope's life, all of this... a quirk, a single misstep, and it could have been me. No one deserves it, but the fact that I came even remotely close to this..."

"I understand," Tvarus said, turning to Cai. "You had best get moving. I want this foolishness to end, so that my daughters, both of them, can have a chance at a normal life," Cai nodded, moving off. Tvarus wasn't the only one who wanted a normal life for the girls.

_Two weeks later._

"Where is he?" Cordelia muttered.

"They don't have the modern conveniences here," Goran said. "He has to travel the entire way by horse."

"Even so, he should have been back by now," Thailog said, coming behind them. "Something has happened."

"Politics?" Cordelia suggested.

"You may be right, Cordelia," Thailog agreed. "Though here, politics may mean that he is sitting in a dungeon somewhere."

"That's not good," Cordelia said. "Someone better…"

"Already done," Thailog said with a grin. "Buffy is checking things out as we speak."

Buffy walked up to the doors of the church, cloaking spell in place. She snorted in disgust at the conversations she heard.

"Those monsters are getting closer," one person said.

"I've heard the Eldritch are planning on attacking the church itself."

"Impossible. Those creatures can't set foot in these holy places without crumbling to dust."

"I've heard they're just like us," Buffy said invisibly. "Only with a different appearance and powers. There's even rumours that their former King lost his throne because he refused to attack our villages, and that he plans to negotiate a treaty of sorts between our people and his."

"A treaty?"

"Is that even possible?" Buffy smiled as the 'rumour' spread through the church. Let's see the Archbishop argue that.

She made her way past the guards, listening for any news on Cai. As she walked past the Archbishops office, she was less than impressed.

"So the traitor is locked up?"

"He won't be warning his demon masters any time soon."

"Good. Move on the village. Burn it to the ground."

"Wrong answer, bub," Buffy said as she paralysed the men before her. "I think you should probably rethink that response."

"Who is there?" The Archbishop demanded. Buffy dropped her cloak, smiling a particularly threatening smile.

"I'm one of the Travellers I'm sure Cai told you about," she said smoothly. "We were worried when he didn't come back, with good reason it seems. Now, Cai and me are leaving, and then we are going over your heads. Toodles."

_The Vatican._

_Two days later._

Pope Paul V was frustrated. Reports of an Archbishop found, tied naked to his chief adjutant in his office, were only the start of his problems. Rumours were flying left and right about a deposed Eldritch Lord seeking asylum and a treaty of all things. Not that the Pope wouldn't welcome such a thing. The possibility of an end to this war was welcome, but he knew it was an impossibility. But still, he prayed that there was some truth to the rumour.

As a blue glow appeared, he was reminded how fast the Lord sometimes works.

When the light faded a rather strange group stood before him. Two were dressed in the armour of his Teutonic Knights, charged with protecting the people from the Eldritch threat. The rest…

Three of them were definitely Eldritch, though the one in black seemed different to the others. The other girl looked human, though she was dressed in armour similar to that reported to being worn by the Eldritch in their Wild Hunts. The last member of the group, however, was the most frightening. For this one looked like a true demon.

"Who- or what- are you?" The Pope said. The two Knights stepped forward, falling to one knee.

"Your Holiness," one said. "I am Wolfram von Bach, and this is my brother, Cai. These," he continued, gesturing to his strange companions, "are Tvarus, former lord of the Eldritch, his daughters, Caprice and Hope, and two Travellers from another world, Buffy and Thailog."

"It would seem the rumours are true," the head of the church said with interest.

"Rumours?" Tvarus asked.

"My bad," Buffy said. "When I went to rescue Cai, I got so fed up with all the bad press the Eldritch seemed to get, I thought I'd chuck in a portion of the truth."

"I see," the Pope mused, looking over at Hope. "Hope is a human name."

"My mother was human," Hope explained.

"You're half human?" The Pope gasped. Hope nodded, "Intriguing."

"At least he didn't call you an abomination," Buffy said. The Pope arched his eyebrow at that. "It's what she usually gets, whether she talks to humans or Eldritch."

"Buffy!" Hope gasped. Buffy shrugged.

"He should know Hope," she answered. The Pope chuckled, before turning his sights on Thailog.

"And you are?" He asked.

"A Gargoyle," Thailog explained. "And Guardian to the Slayer, Buffy."

"Slayer?" The Pope gasped. "As in Vampire Slayer?" Buffy gave an annoyed groan.

"Does _everyone_ know about the Slayer?" she asked, bringing another chuckle from the Pope.

"A secret, known only to the Pope and his most trusted advisors," he explained.

"As long as said advisors aren't called 'the Watcher's council'," Buffy muttered. "'Cause I got a real beef with those creeps."

"No," the Pope said. "Though I have heard of them. Irresponsible blackguards."

"Something I agree with, if Buffy's reports are accurate," Tvarus said. The Pope nodded.

"We will deal with that later," the Pope said earnestly. "For now, I believe I heard something about a treaty of sorts."

"So, he's going for it?" Cordelia asked. Buffy nodded. "Cool. Can we go now?"

"Yes, Cordelia," Buffy said with a laugh, looking around Novgorod. Two hundred and fifty of the Eldritch had sided with Tvarus against the Usurper Thorm Gara so far, and more were coming every day. As well, the Pope's people had started to arrive, bringing with them equipment, soldiers and, more importantly, aid for the still recovering village.

There hadn't been too many problems just yet. Tvarus, Cai and Wolf had managed to keep things under control (though there had been some surprise when Caprice was found making out with one of the Teutonic Knights). In fact, the Travellers were now pretty much out of a job, which had prompted Cordelia's question.

"I'll get the others," Cordelia said hurriedly.

"Cordy, hang on," the former May Queen turned to her friend. "Why the hurry? Having second thoughts?"

"No," Cordelia began, then looked away sheepishly. "Well…"

"You miss Xander," Buffy guessed. "I understand. I miss Thailog when he's on the other side of the planet for a few minutes. Being separated by dimensions must be tough."

"Yeah," Cordelia said.

"Things'll turn out alright," Buffy assured her. "And we can visit if you get to homesick."

"You sure about that?" Cordelia said with a smile. "Buffy and Willow'd probably put you two through their gauntlet to see how you've improved."

"I can't think of a better way to keep in shape," Buffy laughed. "Come on. We'll make with the goodbye's and then make with flaming gateway's out of here."

"Sounds like a plan," Cordelia agreed.

"So you're leaving?" Caprice said.

"Gotta keep moving," Buffy said. "We'll pop by sometimes to check in on you."

"Thank you for everything," Tvarus said. "We owe you our very existence, and the possible peace for this world."

"Just watch those daughters of yours," Cordelia said. "I've got a feeling they've got plans you really don't want to know about."

"Who us?" the girls in question chorused innocently, bringing laughter from all present.

"I'm gonna miss you guys," Buffy said. "We all will."

"As we will you," Hope said, embracing the girl that was so like her, it was frightening. "Do come back soon."

"Will do," Buffy said, stepping back.

"This is goodbye, then," Wolf said. Buffy gave a cheeky grin.

"More like… see you later," she corrected, before they disappeared in a pillar of red flame.

Fin


	13. What the Trek? Pt1

Alright guys, part one of a little Star Trek Crossover. As always, not mine. If they were, you'd probably either be watching this on TV or reading it in a novel or comic book. J

As always, thanks to my partner in crime, Joshua 'the Evil Guy' for betaing and adding little tid bits he feels needs to be added. I don't think I would have gotten to this without his encouragement. So, without further adue…

Buffy didn't understand what happened. She didn't think she ever would. One moment she was standing with her friends in the Gateway that took them to other worlds, triggering its power as she normally did.

The trip, however, was anything but normal. She realised that the second the Gateway activated. There was a jerking feeling that was completely at odds with the regular smooth transition she was used to. The usually red field around them was replaced by a strange blue one, which, after what seemed to be forever, was replaced by a rainforest cover. As she lost consciousness, she heard an unfamiliar voice.

"Chakotay, over here!"

She woke in a completely different place. For one thing it had a roof. She was laying on what seemed to be a high tech operating table…

"Oh hell no!" she shouted, getting to feet and looking around. A hospital, she thought. A very high tech hospital, with lots of funny flashy things, but still a hospital.

"Ah. You're awake," Buffy spun to face a slightly balding man with a mostly black jump suit with blue on the shoulder and a strange badge. In his hands was a very strange looking device.

"Who are you, where am I and what do you plan to do with that thing?" Buffy demanded.

"I am the Doctor," the man said. "I was just giving you and your companion a check up. As for…"

"Companion?" Buffy said. She looked around again and saw… "Thailog!" She moved to her Guardian's side. "Thailog wake up! Come on, baby, open your eyes."

"Buffy…" the Gargoyle mumbled.

"I'm here, babe," she whispered soothingly. "I'm right here."

"The others?" He asked. Buffy looked at the Doctor, noticing something she hadn't before. Three things actually.

One: she was fully 'charged' meaning she had already made the trip to Avalon without realising it. The rainforest, obviously.

Two: there was no feeling of life, or anything else, coming from the Doctor.

Three: they were moving.

"There was no one with you when you were found," the Doctor said. Obviously he had heard Thailog's question. The answer was what worried Buffy. Where were the others?

"We must find them," Thailog muttered.

"You need to rest," Buffy whispered, feeling his injuries through their link. "The trip wasn't… normal, and I'm guessing we were both injured. You have at least two broken ribs, possibly a couple cracked, and God knows how many other injuries. Just relax, heal and let me figure out what the hell's going on," Thailog nodded his agreement, closing his eyes. Buffy gently touched his forehead before standing to her full height.

"A very astute diagnosis," the Doctor said, "and I must say I am impressed you managed to keep him still. He has awakened three other times before this and was very eager to see you."

"That's my boy," Buffy said with a smile. "Now, adding to my earlier list, what are you? 'Cause you don't feel like… anything, actually," the Doctor gave her a startled look.

"I am the emergency medical hologram for the Starship Voyager, which you are currently on," he (it?) said. "I am curious as to how you 'felt' I was not human."

"It's a gift," Buffy said absently. "Um, is there any chance I could speak to whoever's in charge?"

"Of course," the Doctor said, tapping his strange badge. "Sickbay to Bridge."

"Yes Doctor?" A female voice came from the badge. "Are our guests awake?"

"One is Captain," he said, "Fully healed. The other is still resting."

"Alright. I'm on my way."

"Cool," Buffy said, looking at the otherwise unassuming item. "Where can I get one of those?"

"It is standard issue for Federation crew members," the Doctor said. "Perhaps if you stay long enough, you will be issued with one."

"I'll be staying long enough to find our missing friends," Buffy said. "After that, where ever the winds take us."

"Well, I hope your next trip will be smoother than this one was," the Doctor said. "And now that I have answered your questions, I have one of my own, namely, how you managed to heal so quickly."

"You think I heal quickly, wait until…" Buffy stopped. "Avalon's shores, I must have hit my head hard not to think of that," she bent over Thailog once more, touching the amulet around his neck. "I hope this works," she whispered, removing the amulet. The Doctor watched on as the Gargoyle turned to stone.

"What did you do?" The Doctor asked sternly, taking a small gadget out of the larger device and waving it up and down Thailog's stone body.

"Um, can I save this til your commander or head whatever gets here?" Buffy asked. "I don't want to have to repeat this."

"Captain," the Doctor informed her. "And I will tape our conversation until she gets here."

"A little impatient for a hologram, aren't you?" Buffy asked with a smile.

"I believe I am experiencing what humans refer to as 'excitement'," the Doctor said. "You're healing abilities are impressive. This," he waved at Thailog, "is remarkable."

"Alright, doc," Buffy said. "Here's the deal. Thailog's kind goes into a sort of hibernation during the day time," Buffy explained. "They heal while they sleep, so his ribs and everything should be fine by the evening or whatever. If everything works normally on starships. If not, I'll just put this back on him."

"Fascinating," the Doctor said, looking at his strange device. "For all wants and purposes, it seems he has turned into a statue."

"He has, so no scraping bits off," Buffy warned. "Damage taken in the stone sleep is permanent. If you want samples of the stone or whatever, just wait til he wakes up. You'll get all the samples you need then."

"Incredible," the Doctor said. "And the amulet?"

"A friend made it," Buffy said simply. "It negates the stone sleep, but it doesn't allow him the same healing."

"But he did seem to heal to some extent," the Doctor pointed, fishing for information. The medical possibilities were enormous.

"We have this link going," Buffy explained. "It gives him access to my healing abilities, but since we were both so badly injured, there wasn't enough to go around, so he only got a portion of it, enough to keep him alive."

"And at least semi conscious," the Doctor added wryly. "I had to sedate him several times over the past two days."

"We were out two days? Are you sure?" Buffy's thoughts flew to Cordelia, Ta'ruk and Goran.

"You are concerned about the 'others' Mr Thailog mentioned," the Doctor observed.

"Just call him Thailog," Buffy said, "and yeah. I'm worried about our friends. They were with us when we…" It was at that point that an older woman, dressed in a similar way to the Doctor, but with red instead of the Doctors blue, walked into the sickbay. Two more followed her, one was a man dressed the same as the woman with a tattoo of some description on his face, the other was a dark skinned man with yellow on the shoulders and pointed ears like an elf.

"I see you've started without me," she said.

"Don't worry," Buffy said, trying to ease her own tension. She really wished Xander were here. He was good at that. "The Doc taped it so you could catch the re-runs," the captain (or Buffy assumed she was the captain) smiled.

"Well, at least I won't be completely in the dark," she said. "Katherine Janeway. I'm the Captain of the Voyager. This is my Second in Command, Chakotay," the gestured at the Tattooed Man, "and my Chief Science Officer and head of security, Tuvok."

"Buffy Summers. The sleeping giant," Buffy gestured to Thailog's stone body, "is Thailog, my Guardian, and my boyfriend."

"Wasn't he flesh and blood?" Chakotay asked.

"Apparently Thailog's people usually hibernate during the day, though a friend has helped them find a way around it," the Doctor explained. "Most incredible."

"I wasn't sure if it would work in space," Buffy admitted, "but it's the fastest way to get him back on his feet, and it seems to work."

"We are still orbiting the planet where we found you," Tuvak said. "It is currently daylight on the surface, and thus where we are. Perhaps that is the reason he went into his hibernation," Buffy looked at the science officer, then Captain Janeway.

"You guys don't spook easy do you." Janeway grinned.

"Some of things we've experienced, I'd be surprised if anything you told us managed to spook us." Now it was Buffy's turn to smile.

"I'll take that bet," Buffy said, "but let's wait until Thailog wakes up."

"I understand," Janeway said. "I can assign you some quarters…"

"I'll wait here," Buffy said. "Thailog wakes up and I'm not here, it… could get messy."

"Messy?" Chakotay asked.

"I'm not here, he'll probably tear this place apart looking for me," Buffy explained.

"You'd better stay here then," Janeway said.

Not long after, Buffy suggested that the Doctor do something to protect his equipment.

"May I inquire as to why?" He asked.

"Well," Buffy began, "when Thailog wakes up, all that stone skin's going to go flying absolutely everywhere at great speeds. Unless you want to spend the rest of this trip fixing all these doo-hickeys, I suggest you find some way to protect them."

"I see," the Doctor said, slightly flabbergasted. "Well, it shouldn't be too hard. I'll just erect a containment field around him. That should stop his skin from hitting anything too fragile."

"Containment field?" Buffy asked, following the Doctor to a console. He pressed a few buttons and the air around Thailog sparkled momentarily. "Hey, where is it? Didn't it work?"

"It worked," the Doctor assured her. "The field itself is invisible."

"Nice," Buffy muttered, making mental notes for later. She checked the time on the monitor. "Okay, in three, two, one…"

Suddenly cracks appeared in Thailog and, moments later, the stone exploded off him, sparking against the force field. Thailog sat up slowly, testing his limbs.

"Drop the fieldy thingy," Buffy said. The Doctor complied, astounded at what he had seen so far. "Evening, baby," Buffy muttered, cuddling to Thailog.

"You removed the amulet," he surmised. Buffy nodded, handing the item back to him.

"Fastest way to get you back on your feet," Buffy said. Thailog nodded, getting up from the bed. "Feeling better?"

"Much," Thailog said. "Where are we?"

"The Federation Starship Voyager," Buffy said.

"And the others?"

"They weren't with us," Buffy said. "Doc said they'd done a full scan of the planet. We're the only one's they found."

"What happened?" Thailog asked.

"Not sure," Buffy said. "The Gateway went screwy and threw us out with a bit more force than usual. The guys could be anywhere throughout the multiverse."

"Or closer than we think," Thailog muttered. "Do you think Crom might have something to do with it?"

"I hope not," Buffy said. "We are so not ready for him."

"Excuse me," the Doctor said. "Not to interrupt your reunion, but the captain is waiting."

"Well, we better…" Buffy stopped a moment, looking over at the screen the doctor had placed the schematics for Voyager on. "Um, where is she, and how do we get there?" Thailog looked over at the screen.

"Incredible," he muttered, looking over the information. "How could such a vessel be possible? I have never seen anything like this."

"It's all technical gobbledy gook to me," Buffy said. "I'll leave the science to you."

"This vessel is more science fiction than science," Thailog said. "The Go'auld vessels SG-1 told us about would be equal in technology, but what I see is far more workable for humans or Gargoyles."

"Translation, we'll take one to go," Buffy joked.

"I'm afraid we only have the one," the Doctor said, confused.

"Um, it was a joke?" Buffy said. "You know? Funny ha-ha?"

"I see," the Doctor said. "I'll be happy to show you to the captain. Just give me a moment to prepare my mobile emitter."

"Mobile emitter?" Thailog asked.

"Ordinarily, I am restricted to the confines of Sickbay, for use in emergencies only," the Doctor explained. "However, with the loss of the ships Chief Medical Officer, I needed to be able to move outside of Sickbay, and the ship if necessary. The mobile hologram emitter was built so I would not be limited in my movements," he fetched a small, metallic device and stuck it on his arm. "Shall we go?"

"Fascinating," Thailog said as the Doctor led them away.

"You're like a kid in candy store, love," Buffy said as they walked through the corridors.

"The things we could learn here," Thailog said, looking around. "We may not be as limited for training facilities when we get home as I feared. If we could figure out how the Doctors holographic program works, we could easily create a gym of our own on the technology."

"You think so?" Buffy said grinning wickedly. "And she said it couldn't happen."

"What are you talking about?" The Doctor quizzed them as he led them into the most high tech lift Buffy had ever seen. "Bridge."

"Another one of our little 'you have to see it to believe it' deals," Buffy explained.

"Well, if it's anything as incredible as Thailog's transformation, I am looking forward to it," the hologram said.

"Oh, I think it'll blow your non existent socks off," Buffy said cheekily as the as the lift stopped. The doors opened and the three of them stepped out into a very high tech, open planned room.

"My God," Thailog said, looking around. "Incredible."

"Ah, you're awake I see," Captain Janeway said.

"Just as the sun went down on the planet, as Ms Summers assured us," the Doctor said.

"Interesting," Tuvak said.

"Nice place you've got here," Buffy said, looking around. "Nice view too."

"Unless you're being attacked by some alien race bent on your destruction," one guys said wryly.

"Or heading towards a race of cyborgs trying to assimilate you," another added.

"Um, wow," Buffy said. "You guys really have seen a lot. But we can beat it."

"I'll take that bet," the first guy said from his console. "Tom Paris."

"Buffy Summers. And I've faced two vampire alternate reality versions of myself."

"Damn," Paris muttered.

"Teach me how to pilot this thing and we're even," Buffy said with a cheeky grin.

"I think we can spare him," Janeway said. "We'll meet in the ready room to discuss this… tale of yours. From that comment, it should be rather interesting.

_Ready Room._

"Well, let's get introductions out of the way first shall we?" Janeway said. "You've met the Doctor, Chakotay, Tuvok and Tom. The others are B'Elanna Torres, Harry Kim, Neelix and Seven of Nine," Buffy nodded to each in turn.

"My name's Buffy Summers," she said. "And this is Thailog, my Guardain and boyfriend. Well, closer to husband, but we haven't done the exchanging of rings yet."

"I plan on getting to that," Thailog added from his usual position standing behind Buffy. The half Fey Slayer gave him a warm smile.

"As for our story," she continued. "That is long and complicated."

"Well, we don't have anything better to do," Tom said encouragingly.

"We both come from Earth," Buffy said. "In a town called Sunnydale, California."

"I don't remember there being a town called Sunnydale on Earth," Harry interrupted. Buffy made a disgusted face.

"Why do people always seem to feel the need to interrupt when I'm telling this story?" She muttered. Harry had the good sense to look chastised. Buffy gave a sad sigh. "Honestly, I was kind of hoping it existed here, but maybe that's for the best. You see, Thailog and me are from an alternate reality," she waited for the expected refusal of belief. There was none. "You don't seem too surprised."

"Starfleet has reports of interaction with a mirror universe," Janeway explained. "We try to steer clear of any anomalies that may point to a weakness in the barrier between two dimensions."

"This time, you failed," Buffy said with a grin. "Sorry."

"Judging by Mister Thailog's reaction to the ship, you don't have this kind of technology on your world," the Doctor remarked.

"We're from the year 1999," Buffy explained.

"Hold on a second," Harry said. "An alternate past? Time travel as well as interdimensional travel? How?"

"A Gateway," Thailog said. "A large room with a symbol of a bird in the centre. On every wall are uncountable symbols representing uncountable worlds."

"We use it to travel between realities," Buffy said. "Can I start my story now?"

"Please," Janeway said. "I'm anxious to hear what you have to tell us."

"Thank you," Buffy look up, thinking. "It starts in Sunnydale, about a week after I had come back from a… hiatus, I guess. You see, I've got this whole destiny thing going. One girl in all the world, blah, blah, blah. Even came with a title. The Vampire Slayer. Questions til later, Mr Paris," Buffy said when Tom looked to ask a question. He nodded, closing his mouth. "For a long time, I just wanted to be rid of it. When my ex went evil and I had to kill him, throw him through a portal to hell, I ran. Stupid, yeah I know, but I really didn't want to be there anymore.

"When I came back after figuring out I couldn't run, my friends and I tried to get back to normal, well, normal for us, but… You can't live through that unchanged and for me, it felt like I had this huge hole in me. I spent unhealthy amounts of time in the place where we'd had that final fight and that's where I met Thailog."

"I had something of a sordid history myself," Thailog said. "I was made, not born, from the DNA of a Gargoyle that had become a thorn in the side of the man that had brought him and what was left of his clan to New York. He had hoped to use me against him, but I outsmarted him, in the process taking a large amount of money, and headed for somewhere I could lay low. I landed in Sunnydale and met Buffy," he smiled at his beloved. "We have had a run in of an alternate version of myself that did not go to Sunnydale. In a way, I feel sorry for him. His life is lonely, full of anger. That could well have been me."

"And I would have thrown myself at something I couldn't handle long before my time," Buffy said. "But that's not the story we're telling. Not yet.

"After that initial meeting, we became close friends. I kept his existence a secret because… well, how do you explain to a group of demon hunters you've made friends with someone that fits the classic description? Trust me, it wouldn't have gone well. As time past, that friendship grew deeper, but I was so scared of hurting him, I tried to keep him at arms length. I had this complex going. I blamed myself for everything that happened wrong in Sunnydale. Every vampire attack, every demon ritual victim, everything. I started digging this little hole for myself, deeper and deeper. That's when we made our first interdimensional trip.

"Alright," Buffy said exasperatedly. "You've obviously got a question, Tom. Spill it."

"Vampires?" the helmsman said. "Demons? And you hunted them?"

"You don't believe me," Buffy said flatly. "It's cool, I understand. I mean, they may or may not exist in this world and even if they did, you wouldn't be able to tell them from anyone else unless they decided to take a bite out of you and by then, it's too late."

"Are there any features that might help?" Tuvak asked. Buffy thought a moment.

"Well," she said slowly. "When they're about to feed, their foreheads grow a ridge, kinda like- B'Elanna's? – only more pronounced, and their eyes go yellow and, of course, their fangs come out. Other things? Well, they'd be room temperature and they'd have zero life signs. I think that's it."

"Well, there's plenty of signs if you know where to look," the Doctor said. "But what causes it?"

"A vampire is created when a person is drained by a vampire and then fed at the point of death," Buffy explained. "The vampire's blood leaves a gate for a demon to take position of the body. It may look, act and sound like the person, but… Not the answer you were looking for, huh?"

"Not really," the Doctor said dryly. Buffy sighed and looked up at Thailog.

"There is no scientific or logical explanation for it," Thailog explained. "I have had some time to look at a vampires blood carefully, looking for some explanation. All we have is the one Buffy just gave you."

"Um, back to the story?" Buffy asked. The Doctor nodded and Buffy resumed.

"That first trip was when I realised, and admitted, there was something between Thailog and me other than friendship," the Slayer continued. "Actually, I was kinda smacked between the eyes with the fact. We'd landed in a Sunnydale that was almost totally destroyed and vampires roamed freely. The first person we met was that version of my best friend. Only…" Buffy stopped momentarily.

"Willow had been turned," Thailog continued for her. She had come a long way from that time, but the memory still shook her to the core of her being, especially since that friend was now one of her teachers and mentors in the ways of magic. "At first, I thought Buffy would be unable to fight. The sight of Willow drove her to a sort of catatonia where she became totally the Slayer. With some help, we brought her back from that."

"What kind of help?" Janeway asked, her curiosity finally getting the better of her. Buffy smiled.

"Ready for a shock?" She asked. "My ex boyfriend was a vampire with a soul. Rare, but thanks to a Gypsy curse, possible. Certain conditions were met and he lost his soul again. In that last fight, just before I killed him, sent him to hell, his soul was restored. I didn't have a choice, it was the only way to close the portal."

"God," Chakotay muttered. That poor girl, having to do that.

"During our 'side trip'," Buffy continued, "we discovered his soul was pulled out just before he hit hell and he was assigned as my guardian angel. He was one of the ones that helped me out. The other one was kind of ordered by my dad to help."

"Ordered by your father?" Harry asked. Buffy gave a mischievous smiled.

"The other was Puck," she said. The first officers of voyager, save the Doctor, Tuvok, and Seven of Nine, felt their jaws hitting the floor. "My father is Oberon."

"Impossible," Seven said coolly. "They are characters…"

"You mention Shakespear's play and I will dump you outside the ship," Buffy said darkly. "Naked."

"That's a bit harsh," Tom muttered.

"He made my father look like a meddling old goat!" Buffy fumed. "He has strict rules against interfering in the lives of mortals."

"And yet, you were born," Tuvak noted.

"A brief physical attraction between mom and dad," Buffy said. "He divorced her when I was fifteen after he realised the attraction was gone. It hurt but… he explained it to me. I understand what he did and why. But still, that's nothing to what that… hack, wrote in his play!" There were various fits of coughing and laughter at the thought of anyone calling William Shakespeare a hack.

"Alright," Janeway said, regaining her composure. "What happened in this other world?"

"I dusted Willow," Buffy said. "Or the Slayer did. I wasn't really in control at that point. Angel and Puck helped Thailog rescue me from this place… I guess it was kind of between consciousness. Life and Death, that sort of thing. When I woke up, I met Puck and he led me to Thailog and gave me my… where're my weapons?" It had taken her this long to realise that her sword, dagger and stakes were missing, as was the pouch holding Thailog's attachments for the Band. The Band itself was still on Thailog's arm.

"We've stored them in our armoury," Janeway said. Buffy nodded, understanding.

"Just be careful of those, 'kay?" Buffy said. "Puck made those for me and the stuff in the bag… let's just say it's the most valuable thing we own." Janeway nodded and Buffy continued.

"After Thailog woke up, Puck told us another friend of ours was still alive on this world. Very much one of the few people I trust with my life. My Watcher, Giles. After meeting up with him, we discovered the cause of the destruction. Vampire me number one, with her very own vamped out Goliath."

"Goliath?" Janeway asked.

"The Gargoyle I was cloned from," Thailog explained. "She, too, had found the Gateway and used it to go back in time, mark him, then claim him."

"After Thailog dusted his ass," Buffy continued, "I went one on one with skanky me. At first, it didn't look like I could beat her, but then I saw something in her eyes. She still had her soul, buried under the demon that had possessed her. I used that to my advantage, asking her what Angel would think," she smiled proudly, thinking about her vampire counterpart. "I gave her the reason she needed to fight the demon, and she won. Giles took her under his wing and the Weird Sisters showed up to get us home. Using some of the information she gave us before we left, we took down the Mayor of our town who had decided he wanted to be a demon. After that, vampire me number two. That's when I discovered the truth about dad."

"Being Oberon?" Tom said.

"Yeah," Buffy said thoughtfully. "But then, the fact I could ignite my sword and dagger blade's was shock enough. I'd somehow unlocked my Fey powers and dad insisted on training me. I wasn't too happy about that, it meant I'd have to leave my friends for an undisclosed period of time. Puck came up with using the Gateway and dad told me I had two years home time. The problem is that we can't be certain when the two years has past, so I guess it's just when we can find a symbol that leads to home two years later."

"Why?" Tom asked. "Why not just travel for two years, then head home?"

"Time travelling like they are would be non-linear," Tuvak offered. "It seems more a case of… I believe humans would say 'point and shoot'… then entering a set of co ordinates."

"Right," Buffy agreed. "Mainly because we don't know which symbol goes where. So far, we've been to a top-secret military base that's home to an interplanetary gateway, an alternate Sunnydale where my counterparts the leader of her own super team and the middle ages to help another half breed like me."

"Quite a resume already," Janeway said.

"It makes things fun," Buffy said. "Plus, our party's a little…" Buffy trailed off, looking ahead blankly. Where were the others? Were they all right? What had happened to the Gateway?

_'I'm sure they are alright,'_ Thailog assured her through their link. _'We will find them.'_

_'Yeah,' _Buffy said, unsure. _'Maybe. I just can't…'_

_'Don't even think it,'_ Thailog sent._ 'You could not know this would happen.'_

'I guess…' 

"Now," Janeway began, oblivious to the conversation happening underneath her nose, "let's get you two settled down. Then we can figure out what happened to your friends."

"I can answer that, Captain," they all looked to the door.

"Angel," Buffy gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"This is your 'guardian angel'?" Tuvak said disbelievingly.

"Looks more like an angel of death," Tom whispered to Belanna.

"A good description of my past, Mr Paris," Angel said with a sad undertone. "As to what I'm doing here, I've been following you the entire time, doing my best to watch your backs."

"Thanks," Buffy said quietly. It was awkward, having her ex and her may – as – well – be husband in the same room.

"You said you knew what happened to the others," Thailog pressed.

"You're guess was right," Angel said. "It was Crom."

"Is he that powerful?" Buffy whispered in shock.

"Wait a second," Neelix, who had been silent for most of the meeting, asked. "Who is this Crom?"

"He's a… well, we think he's some kind of demon," Buffy explained. "He's the one Thailog's Band was created to fight, at least as far as we know. Angel, how did he affect the Gateway?"

"He didn't," Angel said. "He cast a spell on Voyager's warp core, making its energy signature close enough to the Gateway's to cause it to malfunction. Then he cast a spell on all of you, separating you and making it so the only way to free you from the folds of space and time was for you to come together."

"But, how did we get out?" Buffy asked. "And where are the others?"

"I… don't know the answer to the first question," Angel admitted. "You two should still be stuck in time. As it is, I almost didn't find you."

"Great," Buffy muttered in disgust. "Another mystery."

"As to the others," Angel continued with a small smile, "they're in the Alpha Quadrant, trapped in time aboard the Federation Space Station Deep Space Nine."

"It would seem that we'll need a lift then," Thailog said. "I am not going to allow Buffy to attempt teleporting us that far, and we do not know if Stargates exist in this dimension."

"Since it seems we are in part responsible, whether voluntarily or not, then we have a responsibility to help you find your friends," Janeway said.

"It wasn't your fault, Captain," Buffy said kindly, "but we appreciate the gesture."

"Will you be staying, Angel?" Thailog asked. Angel shook his head.

"I've got keep my eye on the gang as well as you," Angel said. "I'll check in from time to time, though."

"We appreciate the help," Buffy said. "Thanks."

"No problem," Angel said with a smile before vanishing.

"Handy trick," Buffy said, looking around at the shocked faces on the Voyager officers.

"Well, as hard as this is to say, I think this may be the weirdest thing to happen to us yet," Tom said.

"Ah, you're just saying that to make us feel better," Buffy said dryly.

"You two had better get settled in," Janeway said. "We've got a long trip ahead of us."

"Um, could we have our stuff back?" Buffy asked cautiously. "I kind of feel under dressed without my weapons. Don't even say it, Thailog," Thailog's deadpan expression gave even Tuvak a run for his money.

"I think we can manage that," Janeway said with a grin.

_Later._

Buffy looked around the Mess Hall. It was full of tables with a beautiful view of the stars.

"And not a single one I recognise," she muttered.

"Ah, Miss Summers," Neelix said, coming over to her. "Welcome to my humble bar. Can I get you something?"

"Some juice is fine, thanks, Neelix," Buffy said with a smile. "And just call me Buffy."

"No problem," Neelix said, heading to get the drink. Buffy took a seat. Thailog was down in the engine room, drooling over the warp core. Buffy could hear his thoughts as his scientific mind ran through the various equations, scientific laws and theories its existence proved, disproved or just plane broke in half. He was having the time of his life.

And I'm out of my depth, Buffy thought. No vampires on the ship for her to hunt, so no reason to patrol. She felt slightly… useless in this situation.

"Here you go," Neelix said, putting her drink in front of her. "I made it plain orange juice."

"Thanks," Buffy said with a smile. "I'm probably not ready for the less Earthy stuff."

"I suppose not," Neelix chuckled. "Where's Mr Thailog, if I may ask?"

"Just Thailog, Neelix," Buffy said. "And he's in the Engine room, grilling B'Elanna on the wrap drive. He's a bit of scientist," Buffy chuckled suddenly.

"Is something wrong?" Neelix asked.

"It's nothing," Buffy assured him. Thailog was now grilling Belana for the specifics of the drive. B'Elanna was trying to follow Starfleet protocol, but Thailog kept putting things together. "Poor B'Elanna's going to be very tired by the time he's done."

"I can imagine," Neelix said. "He seemed to be a very determined individual."

"Stubborn is another description," Buffy said with a fond smile. "But he's mine, and I wouldn't trade him for anything."

"The two of you seem very much in love," Neelix said. "Though I do wonder how your parents feel about your dating a Gargoyle."

"Well, dad's Lord of Avalon," Buffy said. "Gargoyles are nothing new to him. Mom took it better than I expected."

"Better?" Neelix ventured.

"She didn't scream, faint or have a heart attack," Buffy listed with a grin. "I'd say that's pretty good."

_Alpha Quadrant_

_Bajor System_

The first thing she knew was cold. She was cold. Everything was so cold. And then a harsh, but hot wind blew over her, only to be replaced by the omnipresent cold a moment later. It was the sudden exchange that brought Cordelia to full consciousness.

"Huh? Whu--???" Cordelia almost screamed when her eyes opened, but managed to keep her calm. If her training with Buffy and the others had taught her anything, it was to keep control rather than panic and waste energy. Not to mention Xander taking her flying so she was used to feeling nothing underneath her also helped in her steady reaction.

"What's going on?" she asked in the blackness. It wasn't all black. There was a starscape right in front of her. In fact it was all around her, with nothing under her feet or touching her at all.

Knowing what zero G felt like, both from flying and Willow figuring out how to reverse the gravity field on the Training platforms, just for fun, Cordelia moved carefully and tried to look around. A brief spurt of light nearby drew her attention, and for just a moment, a very large lizard head was made visible from the burst of flame that came from the dragon's nostrils.

"Goran!" she exclaimed. "What's going on? What happened? AND WHAT THE FREAKING HELLMOUTH ARE WE DOING IN OUTER SPACE!!"

She'd gotten experience at not panicking, nothing about keeping her calm.

"I'm . . . not sure," the dragon whispered, his warm breath reaching between them and warming Cordelia back up from the cold of space.

"I'm . . . not very . . . good at . . . spellcasting, but I do know how to survive in Space. I can provide all of us with enough air to survive, as well as keep a shield around us. But I need to conserve my energy, so you'll just have to settle with my morning breath to keep warm," he joked.

She smiled, although he probably couldn't see it since the only light came from his flame, and replied "Good thinking. Where are the others? They are here aren't they? Cause I'm pretty sure Chobe could help you out, or at least give you a break if you need it."

"You and . . . Ta'ruk are the only ones here with me. And as far as I can tell, mystical dragon senses you know, neither Ch . . . uh, Buffy, or Thailog are anywhere nearby. There is a planet, but . . ." Goran trailed off.

"OK, that is a problem," Cordelia purposely ignored his trailing off. At the moment, they needed to think positive. "You made this shield that's keeping us alive, is there anyway you can maintain this and get us to the planet, or do I need to see if I can pull a couple of space suits out of my bag?"

"Cordelia . . ." Goran hoarsely whispered, not really sounding tired, but maybe weak or . . . injured!

"Goran, what's wrong?" she hissed urgently.

"That's kind of the problem really," he chuckled a little, warming her up again. "I . . . don't know how to propell myself through space. If I did, I probably could, maybe not, but probably could get us to the planet with the shield and air intact, but… I'm just not good enough. At least . . . not yet."

"Goran, you sound like you're hurt, now what's wrong!" Cordelia demanded.

"The . . . this last trip . . . was different. Something . . . trapped us, but it must not have counted on a Dragon that was partially trained by the Wiccan being in the group. I managed to break us free, but in the process I think I injured myself. Next thing I know, we're going through some kind of wormhole, that's what you humans call them, isn't it? Then we're out here and I cast the shield and atmosphere spells the moment I had the two of you in my grasp. I've spent at least half an hour trying to keep you both from dying of hypothermia and revive you."

"Oh, well, thanks," she muttered after a moment of uncomfortable silence.

The silence stretched on, with the occasional burst of fire from Goran to maintain heat in their little bubble in space, and both were at a loss at what to do or what could happen next.

_Federation Outpost Deep Space Nine_

_5 minutes after wormhole opened_

"Captain, I believe I may have found something," Lt. Commander Worf informed Captain Benjamin Sisko, Commanding Officer of DS9, and Emissary of the Prophets to the people of Bajor.

"What is it Commander?" Sisko asked, moving around the central table in Ops over to Worf's station. "Did you find out what caused the wormhole to open like that?"

"I believe I may have sir. Long range sensors are picking up . . . life signs," Worf confirmed before finally saying it.

"Life signs?" the bald CEO exclaimed loudly. "Is it an escape pod, or maybe a ship?"

Worf triple checked this time before answering, despite already having the answer. "Negative sir. No trace of any power signatures, and there are no traces of any metals, alloys, or containment of any kind, but the life signs are still there. And for the moment they are stationary and steady."

Eyes wide with shock, the Captain exchanged a look with the Trill Jadzia Dax before snapping out orders, "Major, Lieutenant," identifying the red-clad Bajoran and Dax, "get the Doctor and quickly take a Runabout and see if we can get to those people before whatever is keeping them alive runs out."

"Sir!" Worf interrupted. "One of the . . . life signs, seems to be coming from a creature that in itself is larger than a Runabout itself. It might be a better course of action to take the Defiant and bring them into one of the cargo bays."

Sisko nodded to the Klingon and turned back to Kira and Dax, "Do it. Ops to the Infirmary."

"Bashir here sir," came the crisp reply over the Comms system.

"Meet Dax and Major Kira at the Defiant, we may have some injured . . . people for you to treat. They just came through the wormhole. Without a ship," Sisko informed the Chief Medical Officer of the station.

"I'm on my way," Sisko could easily detect the sudden urgency in the Doctor's normally calm and analytical voice.

From this point on, Sisko could only sit and wait, and hope that they weren't too late.

_Out in space_

"Uh, Goran, am I hallucinating?" Cordelia suddenly asked after an extended silence.

"I wish," the dragon answered.

"No, I mean, it looks like one of the stars is moving. And getting closer," she pointed, just as Goran let out another flame burst, so he could see where she was pointing.

"That's not a star. It's a ship. A starship!" Goran sounded excited.

"Are you sure it's starclass and not just a typical orbital space ship?" Cordelia asked, trying not to get her hopes too high.

"Moving way to fast to be anything but a starship," Goran told her.

"YES!"

"Shh!"

"Sorry, but you do know what this . . ." Cordelia trailed off as the ship finally came within sight and they could actually see it.

"Holy shit. It's a Federation starship," the warrior cursed.

"Wiccan told me, us about them. Aren't they members of the Compound?" Goran asked.

Cordelia shook her head, and then backed it up with words, "No, the Powers recruited the crew of a specific starship and then brought it, the Enterprise D to the Compound to be upgraded with interdimensional technology. Got to meet them during the whole Thundercat adventure. But that was only one universe, like our universe. We may be in an entirely different universe where the Federation hasn't even heard of the Powers or the Compound. For right now let's stick to the story that we were traveling and then there was some kind of accident and we don't know how we got here."

"What if they ask how we've survived in the cold of space?" the dragon asked.

Cordelia hesitated and decided, "We'll tell them it's advanced technology."

"It's magic," Goran exclaimed, even as the starship came ever closer, slowing down now.

"Yeah, and if they've never heard of the Compound, what are the chances that they even believe in magic?" Cordelia snapped back.

"Good point," the dragon conceded.

By this point the ship was within a couple miles of the group, but considering how big the ship itself was, that was close enough.

"They're probably going to try to beam us aboard," Cordelia explained. At Goran's confused look, not easy to identify on a dragon unless you'd been around them for a while, she added, "Sort of a technological answer to teleportation. If they're advanced enough with transporter technology, they should be able to beam us through the shield you've erected. If not . . ."

"It's too dangerous to even try to—" Goran was cut off as a wave of energy covered them and for a few seconds, they felt lighter than air, a vague bodilessness that defied description. The next thing they knew, they were in a large, gray room, which was also filled with big plastic containers, only just big enough to fit Goran's large frame.

"--drop the . . . shield . . ." he finished, stunned at what had just happened.

"Never get used to that," Cordelia muttered as she shook herself, then quickly checked her person, glad to see she had all of her weapons, as well as all of her "gifts" still with her. Then she quickly looked around, and was relieved to see Ta'ruk, unconscious, but whole, and after a quick check, alive.

"He must be doing that Kel'nor'reem thing Chobe explained to us," Cordelia commented just before doors hissed open, admitting three people, two of them that had weapons, the third with a medical kit strapped to his shoulder. The alien, she couldn't recognize which species, in red immediately pulled her weapon and aimed it up at Goran's head.

Cordelia didn't even think as she reacted, despite what she knew about Phasers and what they could do. In a flash of movement that had the three people blinking in shock, Cordelia had her shot gun off her back and aimed at the head of the lady with the crinkled nose before they could even finish blinking the first time.

"Just try it!" she shouted in a snarl. The other alien lady began to draw her own phaser, while the man just froze completely, looking utterly perplexed between Cordelia and Goran. At least that's what Cordelia thought, until she looked at his eyes.

_'He's like Buffy,'_ she realized. He was working things out, thinking faster than anyone else in the situation, and analyzing her faster than Cordy could size up a sale at the mall.

"Put the phasers down or I blow her fucking head off!" Cordelia ordered. "Your weapons go down, mine goes down!"

"Lower your weapons," the man ordered, his accent almost English, but a little different. Maybe New Zealand?

The woman in the same uniform as him, but obviously still alien with those marks running from her forehead down her neck and probably further, was the first to comply. Cordelia watched the other alien woman, marking her until the man turned to look at the phaser-wielding lady and ordered with a single word, "Major?"

Finally, she lowered her weapon and put the phaser away. In the same flash of movement a moment later, the shotgun was back over Cordelia's back.

The next moment, Cordelia was moving closer to Goran, looking up at his face. "OK Goran, you sounded like you were hurt earlier. Any clues as to where?"

"Uh, hello?" the human stepped forward tentatively, trying not to move too quickly or aggressively.

"Hi," Cordelia absently responded with a look over her shoulder. "Goran?"

With a grunt, the dragon moved around just a little bit, which seemed to make the woman in red extremely nervous. "There . . . may be some . . . internal injuries. Several places ache, but the most direct . . . damage, that I can feel is along my left thigh and leg." Goran then slowly, and carefully manuvered himself so that he was laying down, the injured leg within easy reach of Cordelia and the man right behind her.

"He speaks!" aforementioned man exclaimed. Then, looking rather embarrassed, he whispered to Cordelia, "It is a he, isn't it?"

At that, the dragon couldn't help laughing, and the Major almost drew her phaser again. "You better believe I'm male human," Goran spoke in perfect English, save that he had a louder voice. "Here, wanna check this out?" With that Goran raised his legs, but before anything could actually be seen, Cordelia snapped and shouted, "EEWW! Goran, put that thing away now! Gawd, you are worse than Rosesummer some times!"

"Hey!" Goran whimpered, but did put his leg back down.

"Oh, I don't know, I wouldn't mind seeing what he's got," Dax commented as she stepped forward. Cordelia turned around, surprised to see that at least one of the alien women spoke English.

"Oh, right, how totally anal of me, intros!" the traveller suddenly shouted at herself. "I'm Cordelia Chase, this is Goran, and . . ." Cordelia pointed, but suddenly the two Star Fleet officers were in motion, going over to Ta'ruk's motionless frame, " . . . Ta'ruk," she finished lamely.

Slowly, she walked over to the pair, being sure to keep an eye on the Major . . . why did that sound so familiar? . . . and making double sure to stay between her and Goran.

"Uh, guys, you might want to let me explain before you try anything . . ." she tried to interrupt, but the doctor, as she had guessed correctly, suddenly shouted in shock.

"Oh my god!" Bashir shouted, triple checking his tricorder readings before reaching for his commbadge. But Cordelia's hand stopped him just before he could reach it.

"Let. Me. Explain." Cordelia said slowly, carefully, and very coldly.

"Let him go," Kira ordered, her phaser at Cordy's neck.

Frowning, Cordelia turned and looked at the Bajoran, curiosity, not surprise or anger in her features. "What did you say?" she asked, sounding very confused.

"Let. Him. Go." Kira repeated in the same tone Cordelia had used.

Turning to the man whose hand she was holding, she repeated her question, "What did she say?"

"She, uh, asked you to let me go," the doctor answered, a little confused himself.

"Oh." Then Cordy turned to the dragon and shared a confused look with him for a moment before shrugging. Interpreting her unasked question, he answered, "I didn't understand her either. It is not a language my people have ever come across before."

"Well shit," Cordy sighed, then let go of Bashir's hand. Then, moving faster than any of the DS9 officers had ever seen _anything_ move, she snapped out her arm, disarmed the Major, countered the woman's automatic reflex to hit Cordy back, and then slammed her with a light hit to the torso, which sent the Major flying back until she impacted against the far wall of the cargo bay.

Before she stopped moving, Cordy had drawn her sword and was holding it at Dax's throat, her eyebrows raised in silent challenge. Dax, who had been reaching for her phaser, just softly, and carefully nodded before raising both her, empty, hands away from her belt. In the same lightning quick move, Cordy sheathed her sword and helped the two of them to her feet.

"Ta'ruk is fine. He does this meditation thing where he goes into a coma or whatever it is whenever he gets sick. He probably did it when he realized we were in the middle of space. He'll wake up in a couple of hours. Right now doc, we gotta concentrate on what to do for Goran," Cordy turned him towards the dragon.

"Oh, well, right then," Bashir quickly moved over to the giant lizard and began performing as many tricorder readings as he could get.

"Forgive my rudeness . . . Goran, but what species are you exactly?" the doctor asked as he began to concentrate his scans on the wounded areas.

"Dragon," Goran answered without the slightest hesitation.

Exasperated, Cordy sighed and slapped her hand over her eyes. However, Bashir only looked up from his scans for a moment, startled apparently, before returning right back to his work.

Meanwhile, Dax had gone over to help Kira up from the dent in the wall Cordelia had thrown her in, and making it look entirely too easy at that.

"Kira? Kira! Narise!" Dax hissed to wake the Bajoran.

Finally, Kira roused to conciousness and began looking around, murder in her eyes. "Where is she!" she almost shouted, but Dax put her hand over the fiery tempered Bajoran before she could raise her voice to that volume.

"_She_," Dax put emphasis on the term, "threw you across the cargo bay with one hit, and it wasn't even a punch. Honestly I think she was holding back. And if her big friend, Goran is his name by the way, wasn't injured . . . well, I wouldn't even want to begin to imagine what the consequences would be if you attacked her again."

"Attack _her_? She attacked me!" Kira raged.

"OK, then don't try to attack or threaten Goran again," Dax compromised with a smirk. Kira glowered at her friend, but finally just gave up with a sigh and let the Trill help her to her feet.

_Later_

Ta'ruk was just coming around when he realized that something was very wrong, and very different. As he had been trained to since birth, if and when captured, always make escape your first priority, but not before finding out who your captors are and something vital about them to bring back as information for the glory of your god. Ta'ruk no longer had a god, false god at that. But he did have allies, and if he had been taken prisoner, his first and foremost priority was to get back to the Lady Buffy. And that's only if none of the others had been captured with him.

He sensed movement nearby, so he remained perfectly still. Strange how quickly age long-forgotten lessons came back to him so easily and quickly now, now that he had finally moved on from the tyranny of his former master.

"Hey, Ta'ruk. You up yet?" The Jaffa's eyes snapped open to look at Cordelia's face. "It's about time. If I had to stop the doc from scanning your symbiote one more time, I'd probably be in the brig for breaking his equipment. You good?"

"I am uninjured," he said, sitting up. "What happened?"

"Not sure," Cordelia admitted. "The Gateway screwed up and we ended up in the middle of space. Then we got picked up by a starship," Ta'ruk looked around.

"It is not of any design I have seen before," he noted.

"It's a human design," Cordelia explained. "The United Federation of Planets."

"You are familiar with it," Ta'ruk commented.

"It's…complicated," Cordelia said quietly. "We'll talk about it later."

"Where are Lady Buffy and Thailog?" Cordelia rolled her eyes.

"In Chobe's absence, don't call her that," she said. "But as to where they are, I'm not sure. You, me and Goran are the only ones they picked up."

"We must find them immediately," Ta'ruk said, getting to his feet.

"Easy there, Little T," Cordelia said. "Let's recover ourselves first."

"I have no need for recovery," Ta'ruk said.

"All right, then, let's let those that do need to, recover," she adjusted. "They've got plenty of scanners on this tub. Once we get where we're going, we ask if we can borrow it to find our friends."

"And if they do not allow it?" Ta'ruk asked.

"Then we take it," Cordelia said with a shrug. "Or a smaller ship, once Goran's got himself back on his human feet. Just chill for now."

"Very well," Ta'ruk said. "I will…chill."

"We'll find 'em," Cordelia assured him, adding to herself 'somehow'.

_DS9_

"All this for us?" Cordelia said as they walked out to find themselves greeted by a security detail. "Now I know why they took our equipment."

"It would not be too difficult to get it back," Ta'ruk said, watching as Kira handed the containers holding their equipment to a human with yellow shouldering on his uniform.

"Let's cool it, Ta'ruk," Cordelia advised as Goran disembarked. "You cool, Goran?"

"I'm…cool," Goran said.

"How're your injuries?"

"They are healing," the dragon said. "Doctor Bashir has done amazing work considering his resources."

"Oh, I can't take all the credit," the doctor said.

"Sure you can," Cordelia said. "Just sit there and stop being modest. Can you shift yet? It might be easier if you were a little smaller."

"The damage is still too severe," Goran said. "It may take a while before I can take a smaller shape."

"Take your time," Cordelia said. "We aren't leaving til we've found Buffy and Thailog."

"So we're stuck with you then?" Dax said light heartedly.

"'Fraid so," Cordelia said. "So, when can we…?"

"This is getting to be a habit," a voice said. "I track down Buffy and Thailog to find them out when they shouldn't be, and you guys are just as bad."

"Who the…?" Cordelia began, turning to the voice. "Wait a sec. Angel?"

"Yes and no," the former vampire turned guardian angel said. "I'm the Angel from Buffy's world."

"Um," Cordelia began. "Should we…?"

"It's okay," Angel said. "If it weren't for someone on this station, you'd probably still be stuck."

"Someone here?" Cordelia asked. "Who?"

"Him," Angel said as a bald man walked in.

"Am I missing something?" he asked.

"I think we all are…" Cordelia began, and then faltered, not knowing his name.

"Captain Benjamin Sisko," Angel said. "Commanding officer of Deep Space Nine and Emissary of the Bajoran Prophets. They send their greetings, and ask you to care for…"

"The Travellers, I know," Sisko finished for him. "I've already been told. An interesting experience," he turned to Cordelia. "Welcome to Deep Space Nine. If we can help in any way…"

"We need to find our friends," Cordelia said.

"Relax, Cordelia," Angel said wryly. Different realities, still as impatient as ever. At least she wasn't evil. "They're on their way, they got picked up by the crew of the Voyager."

"The Federation Starship Voyager?" Sisko asked. Angel nodded. "That ship was lost in the Badlands nearly five years ago. There have been rumors though . . . I know Katherine Janeway. If anyone can get them home, it's her. Where are they?"

"The Delta Quadrant," Angel said. "Look, Cordy, just stay put. They'll find you. I have to go back, let them know you're all right and then check in on their home reality to make sure everything is under control and we don't have to pull you all back early. Ta'ruk? Don't do anything rash," Ta'ruk raise an eyebrow. Angel rolled his eyes. "Goran? Keep an eye on these two."

"Hey!" was Cordelia's response. Goran chuckled (though it sounded more like distant thunder).

"I will do my best," he said.

_Voyager._

Buffy was in a large room with strange glass-like walls. She flowed through the movements carefully; sword moving gracefully, like it was alive in her hands.

They'd been on Voyager for a week, with no sign of the others. They had moved on from the planet she had dubbed 'Avalon' because that's pretty much what it was.

"You still drop your shoulder." Buffy gave a wry smile.

"Hello Angel," she said, not stopping what she was doing. "Have you got any good news for a change?"

"Hey," he said indignantly. "But I do have good news. Cordy and the others aren't frozen in time like we thought." Buffy stopped, looking over at him.

"They're not?" she gasped. "How?"

"Some descendants of the Gatebuilders that landed in this reality," he explained. "After a lot of trying they managed to Ascend, like the Ancients. They're sort of like deities to a race called the Bajorans, simply known as 'the Prophets'. They've got an Emissary, kind of a holy man, called Benjamin Sisko. He's also the commanding officer of DS9. They've left them in his care until you get back," Buffy let out a sigh of relief.

"That's one piece of good news, anyway," she said. "Thanks."

"Be careful," Angel advised. "Now you're all free, Crom might try something to make sure you don't move on."

"All the more reason for us to recommence our training," Thailog said as he walked in, Tom Paris close behind. "Angel."

"Thailog," Angel said formally. Though they had the same thing, Buffy's well being, foremost in their minds, they had one thing stopping the two men from truly trusting each other. Buffy herself.

A fact she realised easily.

"Geez, tone down the testosterone, you two," she complained at the glares. "Thailog, Angel's officially dead, remember? He's got other jobs. Besides," she moved to his side quickly, "I've already told you. I love you, I bonded myself to you, I'm following you through dimensions, not something I'd do for anyone else. So drop the jealousy act, 'kay?"

"I'm sorry," Thailog whispered, wrapping his arms and wings around her.

"I have to go," Angel said uncomfortably. "Stay safe," he vanished before any of them could say anything.

"That's going to get real old real fast," Buffy mumbled.

"Well, I can't help with that," Tom said. "But I can help with training at least. Kind of coincidental actually."

"What is?" Buffy asked. Tom grinned.

"Computer, activate Holodeck simulation Klingon delta 295," he ordered.

"Simulation activated," the computer announced as their surrounding changed to an unforgiving, mountainous landscape.

"Welcome to the holodeck," Tom said.

"Avalon's shores this is…" Buffy whispered. If her senses, her ability to link with a planet didn't tell her otherwise she could have sworn it was real.

"My God," Thailog gasped, pulling his wings back as Buffy stepped forward. "How is this possible?"

"Hologram projectors similar to what's used for the Doc," Tom explained.

"It's incredible," Thailog said, picking up a rock. "It feels real."

"Not quite," Buffy said. "But physically, it's real enough. There's even a wind blowing! We have to get the specs for this. You think it can simulate stronger gravity?"

"Actually, we've never tried a sim with higher gravity than earth," Tom said. "Why?"

"Part of our training a couple of worlds ago," Buffy said. "We'd train in gravity that would crush normal people, slowly get used to it, then move on to higher level of g's. I got to about one hundred and fifty. Thailog…"

"Two hundred and ninety five," Thailog said, checking the GEO (Gravity Enhancing Object/Operation) he had been given by Gold Slayer.

"Wow," Tom said, surprised. "That's…intense."

"You should have seen what the other me was doing," Buffy said, part proud, part jealous. "I get the feeling this isn't it," at that moment, a small Klingon war party jumped from the surrounding cliff.

"Nope," Tom said. Buffy threw her sword to him.

"Know how to use this?" she asked as he caught it.

"We'll find out," Tom answered. "What about you?"

"I'm good," Buffy said, punching the closest Klingon and sending him through one of the rock formations.

"Indeed you are," Thailog said with a proud smile as two of the Klingons charged him. He lashed out with his fist, flooring one, then, using his wings as a distraction, brought the other down with this tail. "We may have to up the difficulty though."

"I know," Buffy said, lifting two of the Klingons above her head and throwing them. "Kinda like the vamps at home would be now. Too easy."

Tom stood there, not even needing to move. None of the Klingons could get past the two warriors, it was like they were one person, watching each others backs, keeping every one of the Klingons away, until there were none left.

"Okay, wow," Tom muttered as the simulation ended. He went to a nearby console to check the stats.

Top score for the sim. By a long mile.

"I'd hate to see a sim that actually challenged you guys," he said, handing the katana back to Buffy. The Slayer smiled as she put it away.

"I don't think we want too much of a challenge," Buffy said, looking over at Thailog as he caped his wings around him. "I don't think Voyager would survive if we really let loose," Thailog let out a chuckle.

"At least now you have something to keep you occupied," Thailog said Buffy grinned.

"I was kinda bored."

_Six months later._

_Voyager's Transporter room._

"Finally," Buffy muttered as they prepared to transport down to the planet below for their first Away Mission. "I was getting claustrophobic. I'm not really sure about being taken to pieces and put back together again though."

"You do it yourself when you teleport," Thailog reminded her.

"Yeah, but that's me," she said petulantly. "I know I can put myself together again. I'm not sure about this stuff."

"I assure you, it all works according to schematics," Tuvok said. "We have used the system many times."

"Still not completely sure," Buffy said. "You've probably never used this stuff on people like us before. How do you know it'll work?"

"Buffy," Thailog began as they stepped onto the transporter pads.

"I'm just saying," she said defensively.

"It works," B'Elanna assured her from behind the console. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Buffy muttered as B'Elanna beamed them out.

Arriving on the planet, the half-Fey Slayer shivered slightly as she commented, "Not quite the way I'm used to doing that, but I guess it works."

"You need to stop worrying so much," Tom joked. Buffy glared at him.

"You wanna be a frog?" she asked darkly.

"Come on," Tom said quickly. "Settlement's this way."

"Didn't think so."

"What happened here?" Buffy gasped as they entered the small village. There were larger cities; the Captain had decided it would be best to limit Buffy and Thailog's first experience on the away team to one of the outlaying settlements.

"Some kind of attack," Thailog surmised, ready. Buffy loosened her sword in its sheath.

"This isn't good," Tom said, touching his commbadge. "Away team to Voyager. Paris to Voyager, come in," Tuvok followed suit, with the same result.

None.

"Bad," Buffy agreed, sword now in one hand, her dagger in the other hand. In her mind, she was running through various magicks she could use, including a quick teleport back to Voyager. "Very bad."

"It is about to get worse," Tuvok said, pointing to a shambling crowd coming towards them. "The villagers I presume."

"They look like they've been turned into zombies," Tom noted, phaser out. Buffy focused, using her aura sight.

"It's a spell," she informed them. "They're still alive, they've just been brainwashed by magic."

"This just keeps getting better and better," Tom muttered, setting his phaser to stun. Or trying to. "Commbadge isn't all that's being jammed."

"They are saying something," Thailog said as they got closer.

"Crom. Crom. Crom. Crom…"

"Oh shit," Buffy whispered. "Not good, babe. He knows we're here."

"Definitely not good," Tom agreed. Thailog growled.

"Then let us see how powerful his spell is," he roared, calling the full power of his ki to bear. The energy wave moved over the crowd, they staggered, but continued to move forward. Thailog gave an almighty roar, a roar coming from the depths of his soul, a roar of a thousand, thousand Gargoyles as he summoned the power of the Band, his eyes going to pure gold. This time, they stopped, confused. Wind rushed around them as the ground at Thailog's feet became compacted by the power he summoned, dropping an inch.

"What in the name of God is that?" Tom demanded.

"I do not know, Mr Paris," Tuvok yelled over the wind. "Perhaps we should ask."

"I think it's working," Buffy screamed, adding her own power to Thailog's through the link. She hadn't taken the ki training, but she was still powerful in her own right.

Tom and Tuvok watched on as the people looked around, confused, as Crom's spell was broken. Only then did the two warriors stop.

"Whew," Buffy mutter, moving to Thailog's side. "You okay, babe?"

"Yes," the Gargoyle rumbled.

"Okay, what was that?" Tom demanded. Buffy turned to him.

"Remember when I told you that Voyager wouldn't survive if the two of us went all the way?" Buffy asked. Tom nodded, slowly. "That was us. All the way."

"Oh," Tom said.

"A very impressive trick," Tuvok said. Buffy grinned.

"You should see when he really has to fight," she said, briefly checking over the crowd. "No sign of whatever Crom did to them. Looks like overpowering it like that worked. I don't like it."

"Agreed," Thailog said. "Whatever Crom's plan was this time around, I have the feeling it had little to do with stopping us."

"Well, what is he doing?" Tom asked. Thailog looked around, then back outside the village gates.

"Testing us."

_DS9._

This is pretty cool, Cordelia thought to herself as she walked through the promenade. A bit weird with all the aliens around, but still, pretty cool. Pity she didn't have some money with her.

"Ah, Miss Chase," Cordelia looked around and saw Dr. Bashir. "Over here."

"Hey, Doc," Cordelia said, joining him and another alien. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if you'd like to join us for some breakfast," the doctor said. "That, and my friend here wanted to meet you."

"The doctor was telling us about your astounding feat," the alien man said. "Most amazing, coming through the wormhole like that shipless."

"Yeah, kinda amazed me too," Cordelia mouttered. "And you are…?"

"Forgive me, I am Garick, available at your service for all your clothing needs," the gray-skinned alien said with something akin to meaningless flattery that she used to get and dish out when she was still Queen C, only more slimey.

"Huh?" the human female looked to the doctor.

"Garick owns a tailor shop here on the station," Bashir explained.

"Oh. Cool. He's Cardassian right? I used to know this stuff, but it's been a while since I've been in a universe on a Federation ship, let alone a place like this," she commented.

"Indeed I am young lady. So that must make you human," Garick smoothly replied.

Cordelia instantly did not trust this guy. He seemed nice and he might even one day be her friend, but she did not, and she could not see herself trusting him as far as she could throw Goran. Well, she actually _could_ throw Goran, but not very far. Like maybe a foot. Or less.

However at that moment, Doctor Bashir and Garick were saved from Cordelia's devastating retort as she caught sight of someone she never expected to see here of all places.

"Worf!?!!" the Earth woman shouted, jumping to her feet and racing forward to meet the Klingon. In her wake Bashir and Garick exchanged confused glances.

Lieutenant Commander Worf, 2nd Officer of Deep Space Nine, stopped at the sound of his name being shouted, and then looked around, confused for several moments, trying to find who was calling him. When Cordelia came out of the crowd, calling his name a second time, he frowned in confusion and intense worry.

The human-raised Klingon recognized the woman that had been rescued from the harsh environment of space, minus ship or environment suit along with two aliens, one claiming to be a dragon. However he had no clue as to how she knew his name, nor why she was walking up to him like she knew him personally. He had a feeling that if he ever had met her he most certainly would not have forgotten her, no matter how hard he tried.

"May I help you Miss . . . ?" he didn't know her name.

The armored brunette came up short, frowning. Then, whatever was the problem, she just sighed and seemed to accept it. "Sorry, it's kind of a long story. Look, I'm having lunch, or whatever the hell time it is, with the Doctor and a Cardassian friend of his. Would you mind joining us? I . . . kind of need some information, and I'm pretty sure that you're probably my best bet at getting it."

"You could just ask the computer database," Worf pointed out.

Not skipping a beat, Cordelia added, "About the _Enterprise_."

At the name of his previous assignment and the ship that was as legendary as anything else he knew, Worf stiffened and looked at Cordelia in an entirely different light. Not necessarily a good light, but neither was it one that he didn't trust her in. "All right," he reluctantly agreed.

Nodding, she lead the way back to the table where Bashir and Garrick were still sitting, and quite confused.

"OK, first thing first," Cordy began, "because I'm not entirely certain, but I'm pretty sure that you'll probably know what I'm talking about."

The men just stared at her, waiting.

"Are you familiar with the concept of alternate realities and parallel universes?" she finally asked.

Worf scowled, seeming angry while Bashir finally nodded in understanding. Garrick was unreadable to the Earthling. "So you are?" she asked, confirming their expressions.

"Oh yes," the doctor nodded.

"Much to my displeasure," Worf practically growled. Arching an eyebrow at that, Cordelia continued with her explanation.

"Well, I happen to be from an alternate reality. One that is based in late 20th Century Earth, in California if that helps further. Goran, the dragon, is from my same universe, but a pocket dimension. Ta'ruk is from some other reality altogether, and then there's Chobe and Thailog and they're from their own other reality, which I'm only going to to teach my idiotic evil double a thing or two about loyalty."

"But if you are from the 20th Century, how do you know me?" Worf asked.

"Oh, that," Cordy tapped her chin in thought for a second. "Well to make a long story as short as possible, there was this deal where we had to get to another planet in our galaxy to help some people that asked for all the help they could get and we have connections to this interdimensional organization, who happened to also have in their employ an _Enterprise D_, which also happened to be outfitted with the best of the best of interdimensional technology. I came along for the ride and hung out with the crew, helping out and picking up a lot of little tidbits about life outside Earth's Solar System. I also met your alternate. Learned the hard way about Klingon culture too. You seem like a softer version of him. No offense, but I mean like you're . . ."

"Not as aggressive," a melodic voice finished from behind the group.

They all turned to see Jadzea Dax standing there, a cocky, mischievious grin on her face and holding a tray of her own food. "Mind if I join you, if there's enough room that is?"

Cordy shrugged, "I don't mind. It's the Doc and Mr. Cardplayer that are footing the bill anyway."

"That is Cardassian my dear," Garick chastised in a slithe tone.

"Yeah, and I'll just bet that every single Cardassian in the galaxy has your poker face," she retorted with a dangerous glare.

"My dear Doctor, I do believe you have finally found someone even more cuthroat and dangerous to know than I am," the tailor complimented the only human male at the table.

Cordelia just smirked, and then demonstrating exactly what training in hundreds times Earth's natural gravity will do to human reflexes, she lashed out, moving faster than any eye could follow unaided and had the Cardassian by the throat and looking her in the eye.

"Fact," Cordelia growled in his face, "I am the most dangerous person in this solar system with the possible exception of Goran. Fact, I don't trust you. Fact, you're breath stinks and you tell more truth when you're purposely lying than when you say hello to someone. Now stop trying to come on to me and let me order some food so we can eat. I'm hungry."

With that said, she released the alien and sat back, a cocky little smirk on her face. Everyone else was just staring, stunned at her, not sure how to react.

"I like her," Garick finally broke the tension, rubbing his neck, and then picked up a PADD from the table. "Now, let's do as the lady suggests and order before we all famish from starvation."

The Star Fleet Officers exchanged their own glances between one another before finally just shrugging off the incident and turned to their own meals. Between a Klingon, a genetically enhanced doctor that also happened to be an undercover fully trained operative for Section 31, and a Trill woman who has so far experienced almost 9 lifetimes, that little exchanged was par for the norm.


	14. What the Trek? Pt2

Hi guys! Okay first of all, I'm sorry this has taken so long. I was sitting on this and about one other chapter hoping I could finish the arc before I posted it. Unfortunately, that isn't going to happen. My muse has dried up. So, if anyone has any ideas, pleas let me know. You will be credited for your assistance. Thank you.

Still don't own it.

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_  
One month later  
__Voyager_  
"I. Am. Bored," Buffy declared as the simulation ended. "I really need to up the difficulty on this thing."

She walked out of the Holo Deck and looked up and down the corridor. Now where do I go, she thought. Seven months on this tub and I still get lost.

After asking for directions, she made her way to the bridge. With Thailog spending a lot of time in Engineering (he was determined to figure out the warp core technology), she was spending time on the bridge, learning how to fly Voyager, along with several other useful things.

The second she walked onto the bridge, however, the alarms started to ring. "Should I come back later?" She asked, looking down at Captain Janeway. Then she looked at the view screen and saw a giant cube. "What the hell is that?"

"It's a Borg Cube," Janeway said. "And they've decided they want to assimilate us."

"That's a bad thing, right?" Buffy asked.

"You've seen Seven of Nine, right?" Tom asked from the helm.

"Yeah," Buffy said, remembering the young woman, and some of the Borg implants one could still see.

"That's as de-Borged a former drone can get," he finished.

"And, a fully Borged person?" As if to answer Buffy's question, the main viewer came to life, showing the interior of the Borg vessel. On the platforms and walkways, Buffy could make out several pale-faced cyborgs moving about like ants.

"We are the Borg," a hundred-strong voice to rival Thailog's roar said. "You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile."

"Ew," Buffy said in shock, earning chuckles from some of the crew. "That is gross. You need some skin care there, pal. And all that metallic black? So last year."

"Is she taunting the Borg?" Harry whispered.

"I would believe so, Mr Kim," Tuvok said.

"I don't know whether Thailog's the luckiest guy I know or the bravest," Harry muttered.

"You're opinion is irrelevant," the voice said. "Soon, you will be Borg."

"So not happening," Buffy said. _'Thailog, trouble.'_

'_I know. What shall we do?'_

"Phasers are ineffective," Tuvok said.

'_I'll create an atmosphere outside. Maybe we can beef up the firepower.'_

'_It's worth a shot.'_

"Captain, Thailog and I have an idea," Buffy said out loud. "Keep 'em occupied," with that, she vanished in a blue light, stopping only to pick up Thailog from Engineering, then reappearing on the top of _Voyager_, covering them both in an oxygen filled shield. "This won't hold for long, babe, but I can make a sealed exit, I hope. Otherwise, we've got five seconds after you do you're thing before we have to pull back."

"That is all I will need," Thailog said, spreading his wings.

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_Inside_  
"Get me an external view," Janeway ordered. The view screen showed the two on the top of the ship under a glowing blue dome.

"What's he doing?" Tom asked as Thailog brought his hands to his sides.

"If it can stop the Borg, Mr Paris, he can dance a hula for all I care," Janeway commented.

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_Outside_  
Thailog concentrated, focusing his ki. His wings wrapped around him as blue energy began to glow between his palms.

"KA-ME!"

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_Borg ship_  
The Borg watched as the strange unassimilated being begun to glow. They dismissed it. He was nothing. They were Borg. Soon, he would be one of them. It was inevitable.

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_On top of Voyager_  
"HA-ME!" Thailog continued, his voice becoming a growl. His eyes flashed red, then gold, then back to red.

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_Voyager Bridge_  
"What's that?" Harry said as the blue glow in his hands came to his attention.

"It appears to be the same energy Thailog used during Crom's attack," Tuvok observed. "Only far more concentrated."

"Like a phaser," Chakotay said slowly.

"You don't think…?" Tom began.

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_Outside_  
"HA!" Buffy grunted as the beam left the shield, keeping it as close to the beam as possible, trying to keep the space around them out. She watched with gritted teeth as the beam hit the Borg ship's deflector. The shield flickered green, then red, then finally collapsed, letting the beam through to impact with the hull of the giant cube, slicing through it. At that point, Thailog let the beam fade, which was the signal for Buffy to get them back into the ship.

Seconds later, they landed in Sick Bay, much to the surprise of the Doctor, who had been activated just in case.

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_Later_  
"Obviously, we have some questions," Janeway said. She and the ships senior officers had met in the Sick Bay to discuss what had happened.

"We will answer what we can," Thailog said. "Others, we will not be able to answer. We will not be able to teach you what you just saw."

"Why not?" Tom asked.

"Restrictions," Buffy said. "The people who taught us only did so because, technically, as Travelers, we have no home dimension. It was a loophole to one of the prime rules given to them by the ones who taught them."

"And that would be…?" Harry asked.

"Not to teach skills not ordinarily available to people outside of a certain group," Thailog said. "If you cannot learn such things in your own dimension, then we cannot teach it to you."

"Very well," Janeway said, accepting that. After all, it was very similar to their own Prime Directive. "Can you tell us what that was?"

"I have the ability to use my ki, my own life force as a weapon," Thailog explained.

"You don't do anything normally, do you?" Chakotay asked, half joking.

"Nope," Buffy said. "Now, what was with those Borg guys? Do they always chase after you?"

"They don't usually chase," Tom said. "More like show up at the most inopportune times."

"Oh, fun," Buffy muttered. "Anything in particular I should know, besides the fact that they're ugly?"

"They may be ugly, but they're also ruthless, completely dedicated and totally loyal to the hive," Janeway said. "Mostly because they have no choice in the matter."

"Gee, what nice people," Buffy muttered sarcastically. "And talk about 'multiple personality disorder'."

"There are no multiple personalities," Seven of Nine stated. "There is only one, that of the Borg. Anything else is irrelevant."

"And I thought vampires were demanding," Buffy said darkly. "Now comes the really important question; what do they really want?"

"What's that suppose to mean?" Tom said.

"I don't believe in coincidences," Buffy said. "That they show up for no reason? I find that suspicious. Is there anything around here they might be, I don't know, trying to stop us from getting to?"

"I do not understand you're logic," Tuvok said.

"No logic," Buffy said. "Personal experience. We're looking for some way to get home. Borg show up. We've only had one run in with Crom. Hence, suspicious."

"You think Crom has something to do with the Borg?" Janeway asked. "Any reason?"

"None," Buffy said. "I might just be paranoid. But I don't believe in things happening for no reason."

"It would not hurt to check," Thailog said, though in truth, even he doubted Buffy's instinct right now, no matter how accurate they had been before.

"Alright, we'll see what we can find," Janeway agreed. "Though I doubt we'll find anything."


	15. What the Trek Pt3

Right then. And Joshua's (rather loud) request, the rest of this chapter. What I have anyway, which is definately NOT done. I need your help on this one guys. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

checks Nope. Still don't own it.

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Two hours later  
"The only thing of note we could find is an uninhabited planet about a half hour away at max impulse," Harry said.

"There are plenty of other planets," Chakotay said. "What's so special about this one?"

"Because there is a strange energy emanating from it," Tuvok said. "Unlike anything we have seen."

"Surface scans show a few ruins," Harry said, bringing the picture. What Buffy saw made her gasp.

"They look like some of those picture Daniel showed us," Buffy said in shock. "Of ruin's left by the Ancients."

"Indeed," Thailog rumbled, his wings shifting a bit. "Most interesting. We may have found a sign of the Gatebuilders in this dimension."

"Which means there may be something there we can use," Buffy finished. "Like a Stargate, to at least get a message to Star Fleet command. There has to be one unburied, since there were no Go'auld that we can tell."

"Failing that, we could at least find some technology we could use," Thailog said.

"Were they that advanced?" Tom asked.

"Remind me to demonstrate the band for you some time," Thailog told him.

"Read as 'yes'," Buffy said. "Most of the Go'auld tech is based on or scavenged from Ancients ruins. There's bound to be something we can use," she elbowed Thailog lightly in the ribs. "And you doubted me."

"I apologise," Thailog said with a grin, earning a mental nudge of _'later'_.

"Alright," Janeway said. "We'll organise an away team to explore that planet. Miss Summers, I'd like you and Thailog to lead the team. You have the most experience in these matters of anyone on board."

"We'll do our best."

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_Planet side.  
One hour later._  
"Man, what a dump," one of the Voyager crew muttered.

"Well, they're long gone, at any rate," Buffy said. "Let's head over to that larger building. We may find a Stargate there."

"So, what's the deal with this Stargate you're on about?" Harry asked.

"Imagine, having the ability to travel between worlds in an instant," Thailog said from behind them. "By merely taking a step, you could travel hundreds and thousands of miles, light-years, to any number of worlds, without starships. A Stargate opens a wormhole, a controlled wormhole, allowing you to do exactly that."

"A controlled wormhole?" Tom asked. "Is that even possible?"

"Well, apparently, it shouldn't be," Buffy said. "But the Ancients, and by extension the other members of their race, managed it. We're looking for a big ol' ring with symbols on it. There may be a pedestal thing with matching symbols and a big red gem in the middle. That's the DHD, dial home device. We find one of them, we can at least send a message to you're Starfleet, get some supplies."

It took them two hours to get to the building, in which time they explored some smaller buildings on the way. It seemed to be a small village, maybe an outpost of some kind. Whatever it was, it appeared no one had been here for some time.

When they at last got to the main building, Buffy shook her head. "No Stargate," she muttered.

"What's all this equipment?" Paris asked.

"Looks like some kind of ship building yard, sir," one of the other team members commented. "My father owned something similar, but on a much smaller scale."

"You could probably build a Go'auld mother ship in here," Buffy commented. "Hm. Let's look around. There may be something we can use."

In the end, they found some data crystals, thirteen undamaged, two partially damaged and eighty-three beyond repair. They also uncovered three of the slimmer, longer crystals used by the Go'auld to power their technology.

"I think this is the best we can do for now," Buffy commented.

"Hold on," Thailog said, walking over to a small table. "Buffy, look."

"Band segments," Buffy gasped. "Looks like some crystals too."

"Not Summoning Gems, however," Thailog said. "The shape seems…off, somehow. This," he lifted a gold colored device from the table, "seems to read them all. Except that one," he pointed to a small piece of what seemed to be jade. "That is a Summoning Gem."

"Wonder what's in this one?" Buffy mused.

"We can find out later," Tom said. "We should report back to Voyager. I don't think we're finding anything else here."

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_Back on the ship_  
"So, what did you find?" Janeway asked.

"Data crystals for the most part," Tom reported. "Only fifteen we can really use. And Thailog found some things for his Band. He and Buffy are checking them out now."

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _

_Later_  
"Well?" Buffy asked in their rooms.

"The crystals seem to be some form of history lessons," Thailog contained. "Regarding use of certain Ancient technology, should we find any that is unfamiliar, including the sciences they work on."

"I'll leave that to you, babe," Buffy said with a grin. "And the Summoning Gem. Any ideas?"

"I do, actually," Thailog said, picking up one of the data gems. "This holds a list of the Summons and the gems that hold them. It should give us an idea of what to expect. All but Excalibur is covered. This jade possesses the spirit of a living ship."

"A living ship?" Buffy asked. "Cool."

"Yes," Thailog agreed. "She is called 'Tsunami'."

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One week later  
"We managed to decode those crystals," Torres said. "You won't believe what we found."

"What?" Buffy asked.

"A transwarp drive," Torres said. "Only one infinitely safer than the one used by the Borg."

"How so?" Janeway asked. Torres activated a simulation. The wormhole that opened looked very familiar to two of those present.

"The Wormhole remains open until you pass through the other side and signal it to close."

"A portable Stargate," Buffy gasped.

"Incredible," Thailog whispered.

"That's a Stargate?" Tom asked.

"Without the actual 'Gate," Buffy confirmed. "It's the event horizon. The designs for that…"

"Would need someway to 'dial' the 3 Dimensional coordinates," Thailog said, now completely in his element.

"One of the ship designs seemed to dial through a needle extension at the front of the ship," Torres said.

"Perhaps we can use the phaser array," Harry suggested.

"It is possible," Tuvok agreed.

"Get on it," Janeway ordered. "Mr Thailog, help in anyway you can."

"We'll need some Naquada more than likely," Thailog said.

"We'll find some," Buffy assured him. "You just get the drive built."


	16. What the TrekPt4

Last of what I have for this bit, I swear. grins maniacally I should have split it down, but it's quarter to ten, i can't be bothered. ARE YOU HAPPY NOW JOSHUA?!? (juuuuuuust kidding)

Nope. I don't own anymore than I did five minutes ago.

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_Deep Space 9  
One week later_  
"So, no more pain?" Dr. Bashir asked the mammoth beast, still stuck in the cargo bay of the _Defiant_.

Goran, testing, moved his leg and then one by one each of his other limbs, even fully extending his wings, albeit one at a time. "Good as new Doc," the dragon grinned at the human.

It had been a little over two months since Goran, Cordelia, and Ta'ruk had been ejected from the wormhole, and most of it had been spent on Goran's recovery from his injuries.

"I'm very glad to hear it," Bashir responded to the dragon. "Cordelia's been pestering me about how soon you might be able to shape shift."

"You and me both Doc," Goran suffered a sigh. "Sometimes I don't know how I ever put up with that bitch."

"Oh don't look so surprised Doc," he chuckled at the man's expression, "Given the way she acts all the time, I'm certainly not the first to have thought of her like that, let alone called her on it. Besides, it's true, she _is_ a bitch."

"Damn straight, and don't you forget it," a sharp feminine voice suddenly echoed from the cargo bay's entrance.

Cordelia strolled in, still clad in her armour, weapons on full display. Only on the _Defiant_ was she permitted to wear them so openly.

"So, you're finally all healed up?" she inquired. Goran nodded.

"Still, it would be a good idea to take it easy for a few days, build up the strength. Again, I apologize for the cramped quarters, but the provisional government of Bajor absolutely refuses to allow us to move you down to the planet."

"Ah, that's all right. Believe it or not, I've been in tighter places than this. Now, before the bitch here asks again," he chuckles at Cordelia's glare, "let's see if I can take human form." He then closed his eyes in concentration, and for several moments nothing happened. Until finally a blurring surrounded the great beast's body, making him look like a great big smudge, before the blurring seemed to shrink and before either of the humans knew it, there was a third human there in the cargo bay with them.

Thankfully, despite Goran being physically limited in movement, he had kept up on practicing his magical abilities, keeping them small and mostly unnoticed. Meaning that once he had assumed human form, clothes were a simple glamour away and there before _he_ was all there.

"Extraordinary!" Bashir cried out once the transformation was complete.

"Yeah, yeah, c'mon you brute, time we got you a semi-decent meal," Cordy lead the human-form dragon from the cargo bay and then the ship. Before entering the station however, Cordelia quickly and quietly hid most of her weapons, save for the shotgun, in the folds of her cloak, the shotgun being handed to the Star Fleet officer standing there at the airlock waiting for it. For the past two months, Goran had been fed large amounts, for humans, of nutritional supplements that made Buffy's homemade gruel look like a 5-star meal. Despite his rather calm and steady nature, even he tired of the tasteless slop after two months.

"So, you taking me to this Quarks I've heard so much about?" Goran asked.

Smiling, Cordelia replied, "In a bit. First stop, the Rep-lo-mat, like I said, get you a decent meal. Then we get to have fun tormenting the only alien I've ever met that looks and sounds just like Snyder."

"Considering I never met your High School Principal, that means absolutely nothing to me," he retorted. Cordy just stuck her tongue out at him.

Ironically, they were just in time to meet up with Cordy's usual lunch party, Dax, Worf, Garrick, Dr. Bashir, and Ta'ruk. Dr. Bashir, considering he had just finished giving Goran a clean bill of health, was right behind them the whole way, and then a few more minutes late as he had to turn in his equipment at the Infirmary.

"Oh, Cordy, who's this?" Dax asked, smiling at the handsome stranger.

"This is Goran," she answered, then with a teasing grin added, "You know, the dragon? I thought for sure everybody could tell!"

"Ha ha," Goran retorted, then sniffed the air. "Now where's the food? I've been eating nothing but slop not fit for a slug for two months straight. They do make steaks here, right?"

All the Star Fleet Officers laughed at the human form dragon, until they realized that Cordelia and he were serious.

"Don't worry," Cordelia assuaged her friend, "They don't call them Replicators for nothing."

Ta'ruk suddenly stiffened.

"Replicators?" he repeated, drawing several stares.

Most Jaffa had never heard of the threat in the Asgard's Galaxy, but despite the Asgard's own security measures, living on the frontier on the outer fringes of Goa'uld space and nearest to said galaxy, he had had his encounters. Teal'c, the Shova who he had no doubt would one day free their people, had told him of his own encounters with the vile mechanical insect threat. He could only hope that such a threat would not find its way across dimensions as easily as it did across galaxies.

"Yeah," Cordelia pointed at the food receptacle built into the wall, "Replicators. They like replicate anything. Food especially."

"Ah," Ta'ruk quickly covered his worry with a stoic expression. "Yes."

Cordelia frowned at him in thought for a moment, but finally just shrugged it off. "Whatever. Hey, Goran, after this I'll show you Quark's Holosuites. Talk about wicked! And I thought Willow's illusions were amazing!"

Conversation continued through the meal, which for Goran never seemed to end as he kept going back for more even after the others were long done. Finally, the Officers had to return to duty and Cordy was leading Ta'ruk and Goran towards Quarks and the Holosuites, when suddenly the deck under their feet rocked and tilted so bad that many of the people on the Promenade fell to the ground.

"What the fuck?!" Cordelia screeched as she barely managed to keep her footing. Ta'ruk and Goran, however, both fell flat on their faces.

"It would seem we are under attack," Ta'ruk said, climbing to his feet.

"No shit," Cordelia exclaimed as the station rocked under their feet again. "Goran, to the bridge, now!"

"Consider it done," Goran said as they were surrounded by a glow of ethereal light. Then they were gone.

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _

_Voyager_  
"I think we have a problem," Tom said as the crew of Voyager, along with Buffy and Thailog, looked out the view-screen.

"That's a hell of a lot of Borg cubes," Buffy stated.

"Indeed," Tuvak said.

"Sensors read nearly twenty of them," Harry said.

"I think they learned a lesson from last time," Buffy said. Thailog nodded silently.

"There is a dark intelligence behind this," Thailog said slowly.

"What gives you that idea?" Tom asked sarcastically. Thailog studied the screen a moment.

"Look at the pattern," he said. "No gaps we can get through, except one. The way we came."

"They're trying to force us back," Buffy said slowly. "It's Crom."

"Looks like you were right after all," Janeway conceded.

"How do we get through?" Buffy asked. "I don't think a ki blasts gonna work this time.

"No," Thailog said. "There are far too many of them for me to sufficiently damage alone."

"Infiltration?" Harry suggested.

"How would we send them aboard?" Tuvak asked him.

"What about Buffy?" Chakotay suggested. "It's doubtful they've encountered magical teleportation," Buffy shook her head.

"I could only take over a max of ten, and I'd be wasted after," she informed them.

"What about Thaliog's Band?" Tuvak asked.

"The only summon we have that may give us an edge is Tsunami," Thailog said. "And I have no idea of her capabilities in a practical engagement."

"We may not have a choice, baby," Buffy said.

"They're charging weapons," Harry shouted suddenly. Thailog looked around them before pulling out the Summoning Plate and Tsunami's gem. Placing the Plate on the Band and gem in the indentation on the plate, Thailog took a breath before pressing on the gem. A glow encompassed the bridge before shooting towards the view screen, passing through it and out into space, expanding out into a ship that easily dwarfed _Voyager._ A shield spread out, like ten sails, easily blocking the Borg attacks.

"That is…incredible," Janeway whispered. "How long till the Borg get the frequency for those shields?"

"Unsure," Tuvak said. "Apparently, there is no frequency."

"Is that even possibly?" Chakotay asked.

"The Light-Hawk Wings are unlike any defensive measure you have encountered before," They all looked at the blue haired woman in a long white dress standing in the centre of the bridge.

"Who is that?" Tom asked.

"I am Tsunami," the figure said, looking at Thailog. "I have been waiting many years, Guardian."

"No…way…," Buffy breathed, looking past Tsunami to the ship that had appeared. "We knew you were a living ship, but…" Tsunami smiled at her gently.

"It has been far too long since I last flew the space ways. It will be good to fly again," she said.

"Yeah, well, for now, we have a problem with that," Chakotay drawled. Tsunami nodded.

"Indeed. These…Borg are less than welcoming. I will need to clear the area if we are to continue," thin streams of light lanced from over the hull of Tsunami's ship form, slicing through Borg cubes like multiple hot knives through butter. "Much better," she said, once they were cleared.

"How…?" Harry began.

"Those lasers were like her…Light-Hawk Wings," Tuvak said. "No frequency at all."

"My systems are organic," Tsunami explained. "The frequencies your ships transmit do not cover my own."

"So the Borg can't counter it," Tom said, shaking his head. "Incredible."

"I don't suppose…" Janeway began. Tsunami shook her head.

"It is a part of the organics of my shell. I am unable to share the secrets with you. I am sorry."

"Well, it was worth a shot," Janeway said. "What now?"

"We still need to get back to alpha Quadrant," Thailog said. "The Gate Drive, however, is not yet operational."

"A Gate Drive?" Tsunami said.

"We found plans where we found your Gem," Buffy explained. "They've been working on it hard. I've been avoiding the techno babble."

"Perhaps I can help in your quest," Tsunami said. There was a bright light and Thailog and Buffy were gone.

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _

_Tsunami_  
Buffy blinked, looking around. The bridge of the Voyager was gone, in it's place was… well, it looked more like a forest, or a garden. There was a single pedestal that might have been for control. Then tire think looked like it might have been made of some kind of wood. "Wow…" she breathed. The life force she felt was far more powerful than any single she had felt save when she visited planets. "Where…?"

"You are on my bridge," Tsunami answered, looking at them serenely.

"This is…amazing," Thailog breathed. "And completely impossible, yet…"

"What is this impossible?" Buffy asked mockingly. "We're inter dimensional travelers, baby. We live and breathe impossible."

"True," Thailog said with a wry smile.

"I am glad you approve, Guardian," Tsunami said. "But we have much work to do. You said you had begun working on a Gate Drive."

"Yes," Thailog nodded. "Though we have not yet found a power source powerful enough to activate it," Tsunami blinked.

"You are attempting to create a mechanical version?" She asked.

"Yes," Thailog confirmed. "And we are close. Had we some Naquada, perhaps. As it stands, the Voyager Dylithium crystals do not have near the power to run it," Tsunami looked at him thoughtfully.

"You are truly remarkable," she said. "Not even the Ancients could do such a thing."

"Humans have a tendency of making something from nothing," Buffy said with a smile. "It seems to extend to all their allies."

"Indeed," Tsunami said. She was silent a moment, then, "There is a storage planet not far from here. It should be easily within Voyagers capabilities. We will find power sources there."

"Well then, let's get moving," Buffy said, tapping her badge. "Voyager, this if Buffy."

'_This is Janeway, go ahead, Buffy.'_

"Tsunami says there's an old storage yard not far from here that'll have what we need for the Gate Drive."

'_I'm sure that will come in handy. Lead the way. We'll follow along.'_

"Got it, Voyager. Buffy out," Buffy looked at Tsunami. "Well, let's go."

"The human race has truly come a long way," the living ship said as she started her engines. "Truly remarkable."

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _

_2 hours at Warp 9 later_  
"That's one hell of an asteroid belt," Harry said, looking at the view screen.

"Tell me we don't have to go in there," Tom begged

"Looks like it," Janeway said as Tsunami approached the belt. "Full deflectors. Let's take it nice and…" before she could finish the order, a wide, green beam extended from Tsunami's nose, causing the asteroids in front of her to flicker and vanish.

"A hologram," Chakotay guessed.

"That's some hologram," Janeway muttered. "Take us in, Mr Paris."

"Aye aye," Tom said in awe as he urged Voyager forward.

Once through the tunnel, they looked at the dark shape in front of them.

"A space station?" Chakotay said.

"I am reading no life sign and low energy readings," Tuvak said. "However, there is something registering that is not found on any Federation database."

"That Naquada stuff Thailog mentioned?" Harry said.

'_Captain, this is Thailog. Form an away party to meet us on-board the station. We will have to reactivate the generators on board if we're going to gain access to the Naquada.'_

"Roger that, Thailog," Janeway said. "Chakotay, you have the bridge."

"Is that a good idea?" Chakotay asked. Janeway gave him a mischievous grin.

"You didn't honestly think I was going to let someone else go on a space station belonging to a lost and advanced civilization now, did you?" she asked.

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _

_On-board the Station_  
"Welcome aboard," Buffy said cheerfully as the away team, made up Janeway, Tuvak, B'elanna and Paris appeared. "Excuse the dust. The cleaning system went off line a few centuries back. So'd the air scrubbers, so it might seem a bit stale. And most of the lights. Thailog said the primary generator was trashed, then muttered something about it not being possible in the first place. And then he…"

"Buffy, I don't think they need to hear any of this," Thailog said. Buffy poked her tongue out at him.

"That's what you get for going into geek speak on me, baby," Buffy teased, much to the amusement of the Voyager crew.

"Is there anything we can use?" Janeway asked.

"Thankfully, a large store of Naquada is still stable and usable, though not much else," Thailog said. It was obvious he was disappointed.

"And here's where someone that doesn't get drooly over sci-fi geek equipment comes in handy," Buffy said. "There's a small weapons store with some zats I think'll still work. I THINK I saw a staff weapon, but those things aren't exactly ranged."

"Well, that's a start," Janeway said. "Let's get what we can moved onto Voyager and get moving. We're this close to getting home, I don't want to waste any more time."


End file.
